


A Cousland's Duty

by SiryaEbonyBlack



Series: The Daughter's of Amell Saga [1]
Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types
Genre: AU, Drama & Romance, Eventual Smut, Explicit Sexual Content, Gen, Mage Amell - Freeform, Multi-Origins - Freeform, NSFW, female cousland - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-26
Updated: 2016-09-10
Packaged: 2018-05-09 10:40:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 254,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5536853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SiryaEbonyBlack/pseuds/SiryaEbonyBlack
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>First in the Daughter's of Amell Series.</p><p>Cousins Elissa and Solona along with Alistair and their merry band of misfits have to stop the Blight and begin to fulfill their roles in the prophecy made to their great-grandmother.</p><p>To a Cousland duty comes first. Elissa must do everything she can for her family, country and the Wardens to see them all through the Blight. She has help in the form of her cousin the mage Solona Amell, Warden Alistair, and the group they gather along the way, each member will have their role to fulfill or the Blight will consume them all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

 

 

**Elissa's Prologue**

                Her father had said "live", not “become a Grey Warden and live”. Simply, live. Elissa Cousland’s golden green eyes were staring at the pair of rabbits she'd cleaned and spitted that were roasting on the fire. Her mabari hound having hunted them while Duncan and Elissa had set up camp. He had been quick - Duncan hadn't even realized he'd gone him until his return.

                Elissa's pushed the flyaway pieces of her long reddish brown hair back off her face. Most of it hung lifelessly and dirty own her back in the fraying braid she had not touched since she'd woken that night. Her average height of five foot eight was curled in front of the fire trying to keep warm but still out of reach of the flames. The smell of the smoke locked in her under armor and cloak from Highever helped bring the memories back in sharp detail.

                For her entire life Elissa had been drilled on the importance of duty first, everything else a distant second. While her reactions to her home being burned and sacked by a trusted family friend and his troops were based mostly on survival, duty had been a large part of her actions.

                She had tried to shield her mother from seeing little Oren and her sister-in-law Oriana's bodies. She'd failed.

                She'd fought with everything she had to keep her mother alive. She'd failed.

                She'd watched her best friend run towards the gates, try and buy them more time to save her father. A waste of good men and the second best man she knew, behind her father.

                She raided the treasury to make sure the Cousland Family Heirlooms and money were safe from Arl Howe. A minor success, but a very gratifying one. Not only had she saved her family's wealth, sword and shield, but she had some Grey Warren armor, a sword and a very important journal that had been in the family since the Storm Age. And best of all was the magical backpack that carried far more than any trunk whilst weighing less than a stone. It had made it easy to cart the entire treasury out with her. Arl Howe might have taken the Castle and her family but he would not profit from it.

                Everywhere she had looked three nights ago, a parts of her life had been burning, the air filled with death and smoke. Her training and skills hadn't been enough; she hadn't been strong enough to save anyone but herself. She'd shutdown her emotions after seeing her little nephew so she could survive the night. She'd withdrawn within herself, feeling a level of desolation she'd never known in her life once she was in the tunnel leaving the castle behind. She grasped onto her duty to as a lifeline and it was the only reason she'd allowed Duncan to drag her away from her father and mother. Duty and vengeance was all she had now.

                Elissa knew her first duty was to get to King Cailan and Fergus. Since she was on the way to Ostagar where they both were, she needed to begin thinking about the implications that the fall of Highever would mean on the political front for Ferelden.

                Though she had ever preferred perfecting her swordplay on the practice field, she had not neglected her studies, and knew all too well what the fallout would mean to the country now that the expected second in line to the throne was dead. Ferelden's political system wasn't nearly as complex as other countries like Antiva, but it was ruled by a King which was ratified by a Landsmeet, and they could over-rule the line of succession for a more qualified candidate, but in all the history of Feleden the Landsmeet had never placed anyone outside the Therein bloodline on its throne. That had nearly been challenged five years ago when the Bannorn Lords had tried to put her father Teyrn Bryce Cousland forward as a candidate for King. Being a stout royalist her father refused the Kingship in favor of Prince Cailan, but he did take the title of Heir to the Throne, making him the "unofficial" crown prince until Cailan had produced his own heir. Now theoretically, since the King was childless, her brother Fergus was the new crown prince.

                Elissa shifted as the wind blew the smoke from the campfire towards her. She shielded her face, and wiped away the tears that had fallen unnoticed as she sat thinking. Duncan was still trying to give her some privacy to grieve and seemed to be looking over some documents he'd received in West Hill as they had passed through the town earlier that afternoon. Once she was settled she wrapped her arms around her knees and rested her chin just below her knees so she could easily hide her face if she needed to. Weakness was something she didn't want the older man to see.

                She took a shaking breath, holding back her tears as she turned her thoughts inward once more. 

                The biggest hurdles that she could see were that the line of succession to both the throne of Ferelden and the Teyrn of Highever was still in danger because Fergus's wife and son were dead, Cailan was childless, and Elissa herself had no heirs. There had never been a question of what bloodline would rule Ferelden if the Therein line died out. Until King Maric elevated Loghain from commoner to Teyrn there had only been one Teyrn in Ferelden and as such they were first in line before Loghain or even the current Queen Anora. Thus Elissa was possibly now second in line to the throne, and likely to become Teyrnessa of Highever once she reached Ostagar and the King, something she had never really considered as a possibility for herself once Owen had been born eight years ago.

                 In either case her duty would have to marry and have at least two children as soon as possible, preferably both boys, so they could directly inherit both the Ferelden throne and the Highever Teyrn. Those future children were something being a Grey Warden would make highly improbable.

                First and foremost concern to her was that Grey Wardens had to renounce all titles and birthrights for themselves. She would have to give up her Cousland and Amell heritage, making a noble marriage of any reasonable standing difficult at best, at least in theory.

                Secondly she would have to contend with the difficulty of having children while infected with the Darkspawn taint if she was forced to become a member of the legendary Order.  She knew due to the Grey Warden Joining Ritual, she would very soon after become barren, if she even survived that long. The fear of failing her family duty weighed even more heavily upon her shoulders.

                There was also one other reason Elissa wanted to avoid becoming a Grey Warden.  Unknown to most, if not all, outside the Order, there was the very real possibility of death during the Joining itself, something she could not afford to risk yet. Rava's diary had suggested there were herbs that could increase the odds of survivability, but they had not been distinctly named and as yet she had not identified them.

                As if these considerations were not enough for Elissa to contend with, the fact remained that she still did not know the fate of her brother. She feared that he had died at the end of an assassins' blade. That possible reality made the prospect of the end of the Cousland line a very real possibility. Elissa could be the last living Cousland in Ferelden!

                She looked over at her backpack, inside was one of her biggest advantages. Any noble worth their salt knew things they were not supposed to, secrets were currency. Anything that could be used to give one an edge over their adversaries was kept until it would be of most use. The Game it was called. Elissa didn't hate The Game, she loathed it, but that didn't mean she did not know how to play it with some skill. She allowed her face screwed up with distaste as she began her own plans for her arrival at Ostagar because she knew more about Grey Wardens than most, and certainly more than Duncan thought she knew.

                Two Ages back there had been a Grey Warden who was the wife to the Teyrn of Highever named Rava Cousland. She served under then Warden Commander Sophia Dryden at Soldier's Peak. It was a common practice among the Warden's of Ferelden between Blights to serve for six months and then returned home for the other six.

                Rava had taken a year off to give birth to Elissa's grandfather during the time that the tyrant King was growing in power, and it caused no small amount of controversy at the time. Having children was heavily frowned upon by the First Wardens in the Anderfels at Weisshaupt Fortress. Ferelden’s Grey Wardens had always been more independent than other more northern regions of the Order, possibly because of the distance from the Warden capital. As such the Ferelden Wardens had their own traditions and exceptions that the Order, over time, had accepted as cultural, though it was little secret they had their own concerns in the Anderfels as well.

                The rebellion at Soldier's Perk during the Storm Age had been lead by the Warden Commander. It had occurred during Rava's family leave when her son was only six years old. The King kept in mind he needed the support of the remaining Cousland family and had Rava banished along with the rest of the surviving Grey Wardens from Ferelden. It would have been political suicide at the time for the King to have wiped out the 'loyal Cousland's', and to keep the allegiance of the new powerful Teyrn he'd he required her husband Bradryn to stay in the country as the Teyrn at Highever and not follow his wife into exile. Rava and Bradryn never stopped writing to one another, until Rava's Calling fifteen years later.

                Rava had left behind a cache of treasured possessions; all that remained now was the Strom Age Grey Warden gear and journal. It was from this journal that Elissa had acquired her forbidden knowledge, having read them front-to-back thrice over when she had first considered joining the Order, worried and fascinated by the first whispers of Darkspawn raids that had begun circulating six months ago. She'd wanted to join the Order, and would have even tried again knowing all it entailed had Highever Castle not fallen to Howe's treachery.

                 Elissa drank deeply from the slightly warm water in her drinking skin as her mouth suddenly felt dry from her utter desperation she felt. She needed to make sure that the King overturned any possibility of her being conscripted because Duncan had _not_ conscripted her _yet_. She shivered at the possibility of failing her family so completely, and she felt so cold despite the warm night breeze and sitting next the even warmer campfire.

                Duncan's forced promise from her dying father held no honor-bound right over her. She had at the time hated Duncan for it. Her father lay bleeding on the floor and he'd made it sound as if he'd only help Elissa escape if she promised to become a Warden.

                She knew he was in a difficult position and needed Wardens. She was starting to come around as he explained the history of the Wardens to her during travels during the day, his duty had directed his actions, not disregard for her father She knew but it still was not something she'd let go of.

                He seemed to understand her feelings on the matter without words and he never asked her to speak to him, so she had just listened. His devotion to the Wardens carried in every word he said. His quiet dignity was slowly softening her stance on his actions, or maybe it was her own demons that were hounding her, if he was beyond forgiveness for doing his duty what chance did she have for failing in hers.   

                She once again shifted, getting to her feet as quietly as her heavy silverite chainmail allowed. The rabbits were nearly done. She picked up the bucket and walked down to the stream they were camped by to get water for the skins so they could drink their fill while they ate. The water was cool and she let her hands feel the water flow over her them for a moment before she slowly turned back to the fire, her eyes fixed downward and her shoulders slumped as far forward as the armor allowed, her body and soul weighed down by the burdens that she feared would tear her apart.

                Her mind circled back to her greatest obstacle. While at the moment her oath to serve the Crown superseded the promise to Duncan, the Rite of Conscription was another matter. Only the King could overturn it, and to do so during a Blight was _never_ done, it was an unwritten law of Thedes.

                No one could overturn a conscription, not the Chantry hadn't tried when it came to mages, but the Wardens also would not conscript from an established and immediate line of succession – the ninth son of a fourth cousin to the King was one thing, but a direct first, second or even third heir during a Blight was another matter entirely. 

                Right now in theory she was free to say no to her invitation to join the Wardens, but she wasn't sure Duncan would agree to let it go, unless she could get Cailan’s support.  She would need to get Duncan a replacement Warden candidate she realized, and she had a large group of men who would likely volunteer to replace her in the Order once they reach Ostagar. She also had planned to agree to work on behalf of the wardens as the highest rank noble in the country, after the King himself. That would be worth more to the Grey Wardens than having her as just another warden recruit.

                The Order was still only just recovering from their banishment and needed more support from the nobles in addition to the ever-present need for recruits and supplies.

                Elissa and Duncan were camped near the road crossing that lead to the Circle of Magi. One of her second cousins Solana Amell was to be undergoing her Harrowing very soon. She was the youngest of four mage children. The Amells had been a noble family from Kirkwall in the Free Marches, of which her mother was a member of before her marriage to Bryce Cousland. The cousins Solona and Elissa had only met in person eight times over the years, for only a few hours each visit, but had kept up their friendship via bi-monthly letters. 

                Once Solana had been taken by Templars at the age of five to the tower at Kirkwall, her family had contacted Elissa's mother and asked to see if they could do anything to get Solona into the Ferelden circle rather than having her sent to Starkhaven. Bryce had gone to King Maric and he'd agreed to make the request, which had assured his long-time friend he knew someone who could arrange it, two months later Solona had been installed at Kinloch Hold. Elissa had been seven at the time, and Bryce thought it would be good for the two to have some contact through correspondence, using the letters as part of Elissa's training in reading and writing, and later politics regarding Mages, Templars, and the labyrinthine workings of the Chantry.

                Elissa had been disgusted with the way Solana was treated and wasted little time pestering her father about getting Solana released from the Circle to be the Castle Cousland healer as soon as possible. Bryce, sympathizing with the girl’s plight and his daughter’s concerns, had been of a mind to pursue it but wanted to wait until the Harrowing was complete before sending an official letter to the First Enchanter Irving, fearing that his intervention would only cause problems when he would be least able to help. That help would not come now and all their plans to get Solona out of the Tower were in ashes. She looked over at Duncan and wondered if he'd agree to let her stop and see her one last time.

                "Duncan," she said softly, her voice rough from disuse. She hadn't willingly spoken since leaving Highever three days ago. Only screams from her nightmares and very few one word answers to any questions Duncan had needed to ask had passed her lips.

                Duncan looked up, his face holding much the same look of concern and compassion it had borne since the fall of Highever. "Yes?”

                "I know we are in a hurry but," She started but paused. Elissa easily had enough coin to buy three horses and enough with any supplies or equipment Solona would need. Traveling while mounted would easily cut their time in transit by more than half.

                Duncan looked at her patiently. "But what Elissa?" He asked with a tilt of his head in her direction, encouraging her to continue.

                "The Circle Tower in Kinloch Hold," She began. "I’ve family there. Solona Amell should be undergoing her Harrowing soon, if she hasn’t already. I don't want her to find out about the," Elissa paused and took a shaky breath. It hurt to even try and speak any words to describe the scene at Highever out loud, "She should hear about what happened from me, and she needs to know why I won't be writing anymore."

                Duncan closed his eyes in sympathy. "The mage Amell is a member of your family?"

                Elissa was startled that he knew of her. "Yes."

                Duncan sat contemplating for a moment. "She was one of several others I was considering for the Grey Wardens." He explained to her with his rich voice soothing her nerves, although his news was not as welcoming as she'd have liked in these circumstances. "I had hoped that with my conscription of a templar trainee the Chantry would not contest a mage as harshly, but they were more upset about us recruiting Alistair than I had expected." Duncan's face clouded with a shadow of sorrow before he turned to her again.

                "But with a Blight..." Elissa ventured with a spark of hope in her voice. The idea of having her only known living family member near her was overwhelming, giving her hope and an anchor to grasp to.

                Duncan sighed, his eyes sad and wise. "The Grey Wardens have ways of knowing when there is a true Blight and when there is just a larger than normal horde making a surface raid," He stared into her eyes intently. She could feel his judgment of her. He must have found in her favor since he continued his explanation. "This is a true Blight, but until the Archdemon shows itself, or at the very least its mightiest servants make themselves known, others are not so quick to believe."

                "Cailan surely believes!" Elissa exclaimed, she was startled that others were questioning the possibility. "He called on everyone to send troops! He wouldn't do that without proof."

                Duncan nodded and gave her a sad smile. "But Teyrn Loghain does not believe the proof the Grey Wardens provided. Worse, the Chantry remains sharply divided. Even during a Blight they are not so willing to allow mages free reign to combat the Darkspawn."

                "So if you wanted Solona as a Grey Warden, couldn't you ask them to send a Templar to watch over her, until her Joining?" Elissa asked, her desperation must have been showing on her face and her tone.

                Duncan frowned thoughtfully. He was sure he hadn't mentioned the Joining ceremony to her yet. "Yes, I suppose I could, but we do not have time." He said calmly trying the sooth the young warrior.

                Elissa cut him off too excited to worry about her manners now that she saw a sliver of hope. "I'll buy us horses if it means we can try, please?" She begged, her eyes nearly tearing with hope.

                Duncan looked in the distance. It wasn't far out of the way, and a competent mage always made for a useful recruit. In addition if he could convince a Templar to join it would be a great boon since the number of Emissaries on the battlefield was increasing with each engagement. Such a warrior’s skills would be quite useful; Alistair had proven as much and more since his joining. Duncan would have loved to have gotten both Solona and Elissa, but he had been honestly hoping for more time – time that he would have had if Highever had not fallen to such treachery. Ser Gilmore’s conscription was also supposed to be accompanied by much needed supplies and equipment, not least of which were horses. He had been counting on these to get to the tower and Ostagar before the next major assault was expected to commence. Luckily said supplies had gone out with Fergus and the Highever troops, but that did little to help their present situation.

                In Duncan's opinion Ser Gilmore, Elissa and Solana would have been a near perfect recruitment trip; a trained knight, rogue, and a mage together was a balance of abilities that the Wardens needed badly, but two warriors and a mage was just as useful. Only having time to recruit Elissa, a single warrior had been a disappointment, one that she was now offering to overcome.  He felt guilty about the way he'd gained her recruitment, especially since she was from his own hometown, but his duty had to come first something he knew she understood. Here she was giving him a chance to regain almost all that had been lost when Howe's men struck at the Couslands.

                Duncan reviewed in his mind what he knew of Solana. She was both a Spirit Healer and had some battle magic making her too valuable to the wardens to really overlook. Her use of ice and fire was considered exceptional for an apprentice by the First Enchanter Irving. In fact he was clearly looking to get her out of the tower as soon as possible; her Harrowing had been scheduled to be this very evening.

                Irving was worried about Solana for several reasons. The first being the Knight-Commander Greagoir was worried about a possible Blood Mage that was close to the girl, and Irving had hoped she'd be recruited before Greagoir tried to make the boy Tranquil. Duncan had considered taking both of them, as blood mages were very useful, but Irving had suggested the boy was not Grey Warden material and he doubted the boy was actual a blood mage. Irving also had said Solana was quite anti-Malificar, almost Templarish in her opinion (Irving had hinted the girl was too close to a particular Templar which could also cause her future trouble if she stayed in the tower for too much longer), but Greagoir was the type to consider guilt by association good enough cause to condemn someone.

                Unfortunately for Solana, she had caught Greagoir attention already; or rather he had noticed that she had started to turn the heads of some of his Templers, which was just as bad for the poor girl. Accusations of being possessed by a desire demon had been made in the past when an overly-attractive mage had drawn too much attention before and the only thing stopping it from happening at this point was her connections outside of the Circle. These connections Duncan now understood to be the Teyrn of Highever and her family, nobles with connections to the throne. The Knight-Commander was not a stupid man, and inviting the ire of the man many nobles still wish to be king was never a good idea.

                "If we can get horses, yes, we could try," He finally acquiesced, smiling at the clear look of relief washing over the Elissa. She wasn't smiling but at least she wasn't looking like she was drowning in quite so much misery as before. It was enough that Duncan nodded his head. "We'll need to head out a few hours before daybreak if we hope to make good time, so be sure to eat and get some rest."

                Elissa nodded and gladly helped herself to the full leg of a rabbit Duncan held out to her. This she devoured her belly grateful for the sustenance though the shock of her ordeals had still left her without much to call an appetite. Immediately thereafter she laid down on her bedroll to sleep, impatient to set out in the morning dark and see a friendly face that was neither covered in blood nor drained of it. Ever watchful, her dog Flynn stretched out besides her, helping to keep her warm and safe.

 

 

 

**Solona's Prologue**

                Solona had survived her Harrowing in what had been described, according to rumor, as the quickest and cleanest in many years. Irving had been impressed, even more so when she asked if meeting three different demons and a Spirit of Valor was normal. The normal Harrowing was supposed to be only against a lower level demon or two. Often this consisted merely of a single rage demon, but certainly not Sloth, Rage and Pride together. Irving had also been surprised to learn that the Spirit of Valor was disapproving of the Harrowing ritual, but had been pleased that it had helped Solona by giving her a fade staff to use during the test.

                Afterwards, away from prying eyes, Irving had given her an old sealed envelope. It was from her family and had been sealed before she had entered the Circle. The note attached said that it was hers to do with as she willed after her Harrowing. Irving had admitted to being very curious as to what it was about, and had asked if she could satisfy his curiosity later, even if it was only in vague terms. Now sitting on her horse riding towards the ruins of Ostagar she wondered if there would be the time to read   the letter.

                She was holding on to the reins and saddle horn with all the might her extremely pale white hands could summon. She was anxious and unfamiliar with the beast due to living in the Circle most of her life, something both Duncan and her cousin Elissa had either forgotten or seemed perfectly willing to ignore.  She'd pulled her dark long chocolate brown hair back into a full ponytail to keep it from flying forward into her face. Wind, the outdoors and sunlight were unfamiliar to her pale green eyes and skin. It had been years since she'd been outside. She was also glad it was summer still. The sun warmed her slight five foot four frame sitting uncomfortably in the saddle. Only her legs were used to exercise, walking up and down tower steps all day was useful for something, but her upper body strength was severely lacking, especially compared to her sword wielding cousin Elissa.

                Still she was glad to have escaped the tower. Duncan’s invoking of the right of conscription had saved her from the narrowest of margins from suffering no doubt some dreadful punishment for having aided in the escape of a blood mage, likely in the Mage Prison. So much had happened in such a short amount of time she wasn't sure how to process it all in her mind. It was just so overwhelming. Nothing like what Elissa was going through, but still there was so much changing for her. She'd had little time to adjust.

                She had told Irving about her friend Jowan's plans to escape because of his upcoming Tranquil ritual. At Irving's request she had helped setup her best friend and his Lay sister girlfriend Lily. Helping Irving get them both caught, she'd hoped to get Jowan pardoned from being made Tranquil once it was proven he'd been sneaking around, not to become a blood mage, but to see Lily in secret. Such unions were forbidden and she'd thought he'd likely be sentenced to isolation for a few months. It was better to spend some time in the cells than to become Tranquil, certainly, as the former was a great deal less permanent than the latter.

                 Sadly things had not gone as she'd planned, and she'd been mortified when Greagoir showed no sign of mercy, especially since her crush Cullen had just entered the hall when the veteran Templar had accused her of giving aid and comfort to a blood mage. She had of course not thought that to be the case at all, that is until Jowan slit his wrist and proved her very wrong with a barrage of very magical blood spray to distract and stun all those assembled before fleeing. Saved by Duncan’s intervention before she could be punished for her mistake, she had been given only enough time to pack a small bag of clothing and personal effects before being escorted out of the tower under guard.

                 Fortunately Cullen had managed to be the Templar to escort her into her new room and she'd gotten a chance to explain very quickly what was happening and why. He had looked as unhappy about her departure as she was, yet managed to hold back his despair long enough to share a passionate kiss and hand her a keepsake - the medallion he'd worn around his neck for as long as she'd known him.

                "What's this?" Solona had asked in little more than a whisper as she fingered the pendant with a Templar sword embossed on it.

                "It's something to help protect you now that I... uh well." He stammered before turning away, his face brightening to a glowing pink. "We should go."

                "Thank you, Cullen, for everything." She had told him, tears filling her eyes but not yet falling. Of all the Templars in the Circle he was the only one whom she truly respected. The others were little more than jailors, and a few were purposefully unpleasant ones at that. She secretly had crushed upon Cullen, and she also knew it was returned. Had she not been on her way out the tower forever she would never have given in and kissed him - she respected him and his honor too much to tempt him to break his vows as some of the others would have done, but she wanted this one kiss so she'd always know rather than wonder what it would be like to be close to him.

                Cullen was everything she thought a Templar should be. His dedication to both protecting his charges and overseeing them seemed to hold the right balance. He treated all the mages with respect, and never gave her or any of the other apprentices the impression he was waiting for a chance to kill them at the slightest provocation. At the same time he was always there watching carefully when it was his turn to be overseeing them, true to both the spirit and the letter of his vows.

                Elissa had walked through the doorless archway leading into the room at that moment. "Ready to go, cousin?" she asked, looking back and forth between Cullen and Solona curiously. She glanced down at the amulet in their clasped hands and then sighed sadly in sorrow for the two, their feelings obvious on their faces. "Sorry, sorry.  I'll be right out here, so feel free to take your time." She'd back out quickly to give them one last moment to say goodbye.

                Cullen snapped to attention and cleared his throat meaningfully. "Well, if that's all…" He said trying hard to keep from showing anymore emotions. He turned and walked out the archway.

                Solona bowed her head, letting the tears fall at last. She placed the amulet over her head and tucking it inside her robes before following. She'd finally lifted her head to say goodbye to Irving and Greagoir in the entrance way, but her last act before leaving the tower had been to get one last look into Cullen's eyes before walking out the door for what she thought would be the final time.

                Elissa had told her last night at camp about what had happened to her cousin Eleanor and the rest of the Couslands, and afterwards had handed her a journal to read through as fast as possible, warning her not to let Duncan see what it truly was. It explained everything about being a Grey Warden, Elissa had told her, and as such it was important to go into the commitment as well-informed as possible. Not that Solona had much of a choice since she'd been conscripted. Still, Elissa promised she would stand by and help her to the end, and in turn Solona promised the same to her cousin. Together the two girls plotted how to keep Elissa out of the Wardens and still help to keep the blight from wiping out Ferelden politically as well as literally.

                Elissa had looked heartbroken when she handed over the journal. "I never meant for you to be conscripted."

                "It's better than the Mage Prison by a long shot." Solona had said as she hugged her cousin. Elissa had held on longer than necessary but after so long without being able to have a family Solona had been grateful for the embrace. "Thank you for saving me."

                "I keep failing everyone I care about." She'd whispered.

                Solona shook her shoulders trying to get through to her. "You saved my life." She told her. "Mages never walk out of that prison." Solona explained to her, her tone hollow with her own horror at the idea of going to such a place. "Not even as Tranquil, the only way out is death, and it's a never a quick painless death once a mage gets there." Elissa was still looking overcome, but Solona had nothing but gratitude for Duncan's timely intervention and love for Elissa for caring enough to come see her in the first place. "Thank you Elissa. You saved me from something I fear more than death." They had held each other tightly for several minutes before they sat down together by the fire.

                Elissa had finally cried that night. Solona had held her as she grieved and slowly fell asleep. 

                During this time Duncan had been trying to convince the single Templar escort that Greagoir had sent along with their party into joining the Grey Wardens. He wasn't having much success, sadly. Named Harmon, he had been taking Lyrium for over ten years and the idea of being forced to give it up was not something he responded to with anything but contempt.

 

**Ostagar**

                There was a bright shining Knight on the road ahead of the bridge that lead into the army camp. Even from a distance Elissa could read the Heraldry on the Knight's chest. King Cailan was standing waiting for them. Elissa gave Solona a quick nod to bring her attention to the king. Solona took a quick look and instantly understood.

                Duncan and Cailan had greeted each other and Duncan was now introducing them.

                "No need to be so formal. I know at least who this young lady is." The King stepped forward and held Elissa's mounts reins as she dismounted. "Lady Elissa Cousland, A pleasure to see you again. Your brother and his troops have arrived just yesterday."

                Cailan was one of the nobles that some might easily dismiss as uncaring or oblivious. He had a charm about him that suggested he didn't take anything too seriously. Elissa knew better, but only because he was one of the few nobles she had spent time with when at court. Cailan's attitude was just a part of The Game. People tended to dismiss him as unintelligent, and said things in front of him they shouldn't. Most people thought Anora ruled the country alone. According to Bryce only an idiot dismissed a Therein as anything but passionate about their country and its people.

                "I hate to be blunt your Majesty," Elissa said letting tears form in her eyes as she met the King's curious gaze, "but I need to speak to Fergus as soon as possible. Castle Cousland fell to Arl Howe the night they left and I must inform him that he is now the Teyrn of Highever, your heir, and a widower without an heir of his own." She somehow managed to keep her voice from cracking, but she was unsuccessful at keeping her eyes from filling, and several tears fell.

                Cailan gaped at her, his mask falling completely. "WHAT! What happened?" His gauntleted hands reached towards her before he dropped them back to his sides. His face betrayed his distress at the news of treachery especially now when his country could least afford it.

                Solona dismounted with Harmon's help and came over and held her cousin's shoulders while Elissa gave the king a brief overview of the attack and how her father and mother likely died. Duncan filled in here and there as Elissa's voice broke.

                "This is unbelievable." He shook his head with disbelief. "You have my word; once we are done here we will bring the Traitor Howe to justice. I swear on the Throne of Ferelden." He placed his hand on her shoulder. "Until your brother returns from the Wilds where he is scouting I'll have you installed in the Highever tent. You'll have to be acting Teyrnessa until I can send the Letter of Secession to the Landsmeet. Bring your lady-in-waiting."    For a man that seemed to be an overgrown child when discussing battles, he quickly understood political affairs and became every inch the King he was. He also did not miss Duncan's tightening mouth and his pointed look at Elissa. 

                Elissa shook her head as she wiped away her tears away. The night she had cried in Solona's arms had helped her to control the dam of despair that had been constantly ready to burst. She shook it off and concentrated on the here and now, she could grieve later. "I am sorry Your Highness, but Duncan has conscripted my cousin Solona Amell from the Circle in Kinloch, and I am honor-bound by a promise from my father to also become a Grey Warden."

                Duncan had the experience to hold his expression, although this conversation was expected he had not anticipated Elissa being the one to discuss it with the King and with the way it was being presented he knew what was about to happen. Cailan sighed and turned to Duncan. "I am going to have to request you not hold Lady Elissa to that promise as it could cause a Civil War in Ferelden if something happens, as currently _every_ Heir to the throne is currently here."  Solona and Elissa shared a look. The way the king had said 'every' made it clear that he was delivering a hidden message to Duncan.

                 Duncan had understood and reluctantly nodded his head. It was a blow, but one that was not surprising when he acknowledged Cailan's words. He gave himself a mental shake. He should have known better than to enlist a Cousland, especially since he had already conscripted the unacknowledged prince of Ferelden. "I understand your majesty." He said formally. As someone who had been an observer of people playing The Game for most of his life Duncan found the move Elissa had just played to be masterful and his respect for her grew. He had not even suspected she was up to something.

                "I will allow you to recruit one of my own personal guards to replace her of course." Cailan said and Duncan nodded. He was grateful for that concession; his numbers were still dangerously low. "I'll recruit one after this battle; I'll need to assess them before I choose." Duncan assured him. He'd need the best he could get.

                Elissa stepped forward; her expression was as sincere as she could be. "Duncan I am sorry, but duty comes first. Yours is to the Wardens and mine is to Highever, Ferelden and its people." She waited for Duncan to nod his understanding. "I too will honor as much of my promise as I can. You can also choose one of Highever's knights to replace Sir Gilmore and another for my place, hell recruit as many as will volunteer!" She told him, Duncan was surprised by her statement. Only his increased rate of blinking betrayed his surprise. "I will also do everything in my power to aid the Grey Wardens during this blight short of joining the Order itself." She vowed.

                "And of course you have my conscription and my honest promise to do my best to fulfill my duties as your recruit." Solona said stately from Elissa's side. Duncan smiled and nodded his gratitude. "Thank you Lady Amell, and you Teyrnessa Cousland."

                "My tent is to the left as you enter Camp." Cailan said to Elissa. "My knights will bring your horses there, and once I am done with Loghain and his strategy meeting I'll write the Letters of Secession and give them to you so you can head out, hopefully before the next battle Teyrnessa." Elissa nodded and the King left quickly, from his stride it was obvious the news they had brought had upset him greatly.

                Duncan turned to the two young woman and gave them solemn look. "Solona you will need to find the Grey Warden who will be overseeing your Joining. His name is Alistair. Once you have found him please have him come to my tent and we will start the process." He was saddened that he would be taking Solona away from Elissa, but he had no choice now. He'd seen the difference in Elissa since the night after Solona joined them; he knew she was going to be alright eventually, she was strong.

                "Of course, Commander Duncan." Solona said with a slight bow of respect.  Elissa started to move with her when Duncan called to her. "Teyrnessa, if you would take a few letters for me to be sent on to Denerim. I can give you a list of things that the Order is in desperate need of?" He asked still slightly stiffly, he did not want to come across as ordering her.

                Elissa nodded and her face softened to concern and repentant. "I am truly sorry for what had to happen, Commander Duncan. I will do everything I can to make the Grey Wardens of Ferelden an Order to be envious of." She swore and placed her hand on his shoulder to seal her vow.  From a Cousland Duncan knew that her promise meant a great deal. "I will see to those supplies personally as soon as I get to Redcliffe or Denerim, whichever I reach first that has what you require." She hesitated for a moment then added. "And I meant what I said. Ask the men of Highever if they wish to join you. I will let the commanders know that I support anyone who wishes to join you."

                Duncan nodded and gave her a small smile that gave her a warm feeling of understanding. She hoped he'd forgiven her. "You are a Cousland, and as a son of Highever I should have remembered what that meant." She agreed to see him after her meeting with the King to take his letters. She would be leaving first thing in the morning for Redcliffe before heading on to Denerim.

                Solona had been waiting for Elissa on the other side of the bridge. She hadn't been obvious about it. The guard at the gate was very talkative and had been telling her about the layout of the camp and where she was likely to find this Alistair that Duncan had not said anything about other than his name. The guard had given her his description and Solona nearly laughed when he basically described the King but in Grey Warden Armor. She was just about to head towards the Quartermaster when the Templar Harmon made his presence known by basically placing himself at her elbow as she moved from the guard towards Elissa.

                "Is there a problem Ser Harmon?" Solona asked him a little surprised at his forceful presence.

                The templar shook his head. "No mage." He said in a commanding tone they often used in the Tower. He hadn't used in on the trip here, nor had he felt the need to hover over her until now. "The camp is much more crowded than I had anticipated, and until I deliver you into Alistair's care I cannot let you out of my reach." His helmet hid his face, but his attitude and stance said he was suddenly on alert. Solona had a feeling his change in attitude had more to do with the mages in the Encampment casting a long range protection circle at that very moment. They were using enough magic right now that even a non-templar would be able to feel it. To a Templar it would be very unnerving.

                "I understand Ser Harmon." She placed her hand on his arm as if he were escorting her to a party, not intruding on his ability to protect, but enough so even without turning his head he could know where she was. "Shall we find Alistair so you can discharge your duty Ser?" She said, giving him a small smile so he knew she would co-operate fully. His nod suggested relief at her acceptance of his duty, but still wary of the magic being used.

                Elissa joined them a few steps in. "So where to first?"

                "I need to find Alistair so Ser Harmon can go, then I need to see what the Quartermaster has to outfit myself with. I'm not exactly ready for the outside world." Solona admitted with pinking cheeks.

                Elissa waved her embarrassment off.  "We're family so don't worry about that. I'll take care of it, no worries there." She walked around to Harman's other side and took his arm as if he were her escort as well. "Which way?" Ser Harmon had been about to object to her position since she was impeding on his ability to draw his sword, however he refrained due to her rank.

                "The guard suggested the Old Temple." Solona said her tone more of a question. "He also said we could follow the disgruntled mage faces and we'd likely find him. It seems the new warden recruitment officer is an ex-templar." She added with a giggle.

                Elissa was not as amused, but allowed Solona to lead them towards the temple where they heard the tail-end of the argument between a young Grey Warden (his armor being a dead give-away) and a mage Solona did not know, which meant he was likely not from the Kinloch Circle.

                Elissa stepped forward once the other mage had started to charge away only to end up walking widely around Ser Harmon with a fierce scowl. She almost laughed as the young warden made a crack about the blight bring everyone together. "Are you Alistair?" She asked. She hoped he was. There was something about him that pulled at her, wanting to get to know him.

                Alistair turned towards them startled as he was addressed. "Ah yes. And you are?"

                "Elissa Cousland, and this is Ser Harmon who is delivering the Lady Solona Amell into your custody for her Joining." Elissa said with a steady voice. Her heart however was going a mile a minute. The young man was maybe slightly older than her nineteen years.  He was also very handsome, and his armor made his coloring of reddish-blonde hair and golden eyes gleam. He was literally taking her breath away in a way Cailan never had. She hadn't missed the resemblance between Alistair and Cailan, and it was very hard to miss since she had just left Cailan's company. Where Cailan would come across as foolish if he had said something similar, Alistair had came across as mischievous and sarcastic, both of which she herself normally was.

                "Ah, ok." He looked a little surprised. "You're dismissed Ser Harmon." Alistair said looking at the Templar.

                Ser Harmon politely stepped back from Solona and Elissa and bowed. "Thank you Warden Alistair." He turned to the two ladies. "Goodbye Your Grace." He said to Elissa and he turned to Solona, "Lady Amell."

                Solona smiled and gave the Templar a warm smile. "Thank you Ser Harmon, you have been a welcome companion."

                Elissa tried not to smile at all at the partially hidden blush Ser Harmon had as he backed away. She waited until he was out of earshot. "What is it was you and making Templars blush Sole?" Elissa sniggered.

                Solona laughed as Alistair watched the two with eyebrows raised. "It's not me, it's the lack of female companionship that makes them unable to figure out how to talk to a girl."

                Alistair looked back and forth between the two, trying to figure out what he should say. He wasn't about to make any comments about the blushing Templars since he didn't want to be added to their list. Since they had been looking for him he decided to stick to Warden business, chances were they were the recruits he was waiting for. "So you are the two new recruits Duncan collected?"

                "No, just Solona here." Elissa said while looking at Alistair. "I'll be giving the Order as much support as possible via the nobles."

                "Huh, I thought there was to be two of you." Alistair said looking more than a little confused as he pulled a letter from his belt. Reading over what the letter said. "Yes... it says two." Elissa couldn't help taking advantage of the time it took for him to re-read the letter to give him a quick look over. She was enticed with what she saw, the blue and silver of the armor certainly made him look impressive. He had the cutest little wrinkle in his brow as he looked confused as he read.

                Elissa shook her head slowly as she allowed a natural and genuine small lift of her lips for the first time in what felt like months, even if it had been only a few days. "Cailan pulled support of my recruitment due to political reasons." She looked at him as her expression turned impish. "It seems _all_ the heirs to the throne are currently here at Ostagar, and it is important that I get to Denerim as soon as possible to ensure the line of succession is not completely gutted if the battles here go badly."

                Solona gasped and covered her mouth as she caught on immediately while Alistair choked and coughed, his eyes widening as he too could not miss the implication of what Elissa's words meant. Elissa gave her first real smile since leaving Highever. "You're going to need to work on your political mask there Alistair _Therein_."

                Alistair looked like he'd been gutted; his eyes nearly popping out of his head as he shook it put his hands up. "Nope, sorry, but no!" He took several steps back, as if he needed the space to physically show his distance. "It's a Grey Warden thing, we don't do politics! Best part about being one of us! Politics is almost as bad as swooping, and swooping is very, very bad." He stammered as he brought his hands up.

                Elissa's eyes widened minutely in surprise, it took great control not to show more emotion. She was surprised how defensive he was about it. She should have known better than to bring up the subject so inelegantly. "No one knows about you?" Elissa whispered softly as she looked at Solona her question as much about alerting Solona to the seriousness of her blunder as to ask for clarification. They both nodded an unspoken agreement to keep the information secret. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize. I shouldn't have teased you."

                "We won't tell anyone." Solona assured him. As he seemed to still be very defensive in his stance.

                "How..." Alistair looked a little annoyed now, but he seemed at a loss on how to ask them his questions. He stepped back closer to them as he looked around to be sure no one had overheard them. "I don't even use the name Therein." He snapped his voice rough with annoyance even as he kept voice down.

                "We literally just met with Cailan a few minutes before we found you, and no offense but other than the haircut, and jaw line you could be twins." Elissa explained as she again couldn't help but look him over very quickly.

                Alistair nodded his head thoughtfully, luckily he seemed to be completely distracted and missed her staring. "Maker! The only way this gets worse is if one of you is a mage. That would just complete my day." He said laughing softly at himself but he looked up at them when they weren't laughing with him. "Please tell me I didn't just stick my foot in my mouth again." He groaned, taking in the fact that Elissa had moved to step in front of Solona as if to protect her. "I am so going to end up a toad by the end of the day, just you wait and see." He muttered into his hand that he'd brought up to cover his face in embarrassment.

                "I'm a mage." Solona explained with a slightly embarrassed smile. "That's why Ser Harmon brought us over. But I'm pleased to meet you, and I promise not to turn you into a toad... at least not today." She teased.

                Alistair smacked himself in the forehead. "That's why he was being all stuffy. I thought it was because he was playing escort, you know, because he called you 'Your Grace' and 'Lady Amell'." He rambled as he pointed to each in turn.

                "He was." Solona chuckled taking pity on him and choosing to not tease him anymore. "Just he was escorting "Her Grace and Lady Amell, the mage."

                Alistair snorted and shook his head. "Alright now that I've proven I'm an idiot can we move on, please?" Elissa relaxed slightly and stepped back. "And thank you for not wanting to turn me into a toad, it's far too cold to be one here." He playfully shivered while smiling at them.

                Solona and Elissa both laughed softly as the tension completely disappeared. "Sure. I look forward to travelling with you." Solona said holding out her hand which Alistair wasted no time in shaking.

                Elissa sighed with disappointment. "I wish I was." But she held out her hand as well and he took it in turn and held. She felt a spark alight in her chest at his touch, and if the way he looked down at hand was any indication so did he.

                Alistair looked at both of them in awe. "Huh, well that's a switch." He said, suddenly realizing he hadn't let go of Elissa's hand and dropped it with a blush. "Shall I show you around?" He offered to help get over his embarrassment. They gratefully accepted.

                The first stop was the quartermaster to get Solona kitted out. Elissa made sure she had everything she could possibly need and handed her a small pouch of gold for future needs. She also made sure to distract Alistair and provided him with a sword and a shield as good as her Highever Family heirlooms while Solona was looking at more necessary intimate female needed items. When he protested the purchases for himself, Elissa insisted that since he was the first line of defense for Solona he would need the best equipment. He reluctantly agreed since his sword and shield were in need of replacement.

                Alistair requisitioned Grey Warden Mage armor for Solona. It would be given to her after her joining. Elissa knew Solona would be going out into the Wilds for the Darkspawn blood and made sure she had the best light armor the quartermaster had fitted for her right then and there. Alistair asked why and Elissa just shrugged and said it was good to always have a spare set of armor. Plus the Phoenix Rogue Armor looked very nice on Solona, and it had magical protection.

                Other than the new staff Solona was carrying most would not think she was a mage dressed as she was. Elissa also included two battle daggers and asked Alistair to teach Solona how to use them as backup in an emergency. He of course agreed in payment for the new sword and shield saying it was the least he could do.

                By the time they were done the quartermaster was out of healing potions, and poison. He also made a fortune on them from the other items she bought, including another magic backpack. That had been an exceptional find and she'd given it to Solona. It wasn't as good as her own but it would hold the potions without fear of breakage and allow her to have everything she could need in a light pack instead of a heavy soldier pack.

                Alistair gave them a tour of the camp including; the hospital, kennels, the mage encampment, and they also took a quick look at the Darkspawn corpses on the battlements.  As they came back down Cailan was coming out of his tent and waved to Elissa.

                "I have to go meet with him now, but I'll see you before I leave Solona." Elissa said sadly. “You too I hope Alistair.

                Solona nodded and hugged her tightly. "Alright, thank you again for everything. I see you later." Elissa pulled away reluctantly and she gave Alistair a heartfelt handshake.  She then turned and headed over to Cailan. She really wished she could stay with them. She'd felt more like herself in the past hour than she had since that night. Not fully there but closer than before.

                Solona turned to Alistair and smiled. "Shall we meet with Duncan now then?" She placed her arm through his like she had Ser Harmon. His presence felt like a templar, and it helped sooth her own nervous butterflies in her stomach. This was the first time she could remember that she was going to be responsible for herself and on her own in the world. Alistair looked down at her arm liked he'd never been asked to escort a girl before but he nodded.

                Elissa couldn't help but chuckle at his facial expression when she looked back at them one last time as she walked towards Cailan. He looked at her with a sad smile. "Did Alistair show you around the upper camp?"

                Elissa raised a brow at the telling statement. "Yes, _Alistair_ was very nice and we managed to get everything we needed from the quartermaster as well." She was glad to see Cailan at least kept his face clear as she pointed out his mistake by using Alistair's name. The fact that he knew Alistair's name and face meant he was important, and since he was also a secret, it seemed odd that Cailan had made such a mistake.

                Calian gestured towards his tent and the two entered. Alistair watched from over by Duncan's fire and noticed them going in. He scowled. Solona had been listening to Duncan explain what was to happen now but her position beside Ser Jory allowed her to see Alistair's expression. She bit her lip to stop her own smile. It seemed Alistair had the beginnings of a crush on Elissa. It was obvious to her from the moment they had met. Looking at body language was a skill every mage needed. Alistair's body language was an open book, but his face was an open library. The poor boy had no defenses for his secrets. She decided if she survived this joining she was going to help him learn to not wear his emotions on his sleeve. Of course the fact that the crush seemed to be reciprocated was interesting to her too. Elissa could certainly use the distraction of a relationship right now.

 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

**Inside Cailan's Tent**

                When Elissa and Cailan entered his tent he walked over to his portable field desk and sat down. He gestured for Elissa to take the other seat beside him. Elissa decided to cut right to the chase. "So Alistair?" She left the sentence open ended so Cailan could just back out if he wanted.

                Instead he sighed as he sat back on his chair lifting his leg so his ankle rested on his upraised knee. "He's my half-brother." He said with a wary scowl. "My father never told me about him. I found out when the Grand Cleric told me a few months after I had been crowned King about him being hidden in the Chantry, by my uncle Eamon no less."

                Elissa was not surprised by the surly attitude. Most nobles had it when it came to Bastards. Elissa knew her personal view of indifference to the circumstances of a person's birth was odd for a noble. Her opinion had more to do with the fact that she had trained with several bastards at Highever and had found most of them to be grateful for their positions as knights or squires, although there was also a few were she'd met who were bitter and angry at being cast aside by their noble parent. It had always been the amount of bastards that had bothered her rather than the fact they existed. Of course it was easy to feel that way since as far as she knew she didn't have any half-siblings.

                "He should have been placed in a fostership with the ability to become a knight or the Royal Guard at least, not given to the Chantry. And that Grand Cleric," Cailan almost growled in anger. His attitude surprised her. She knew some of Cailan's own Royal Guard were bastards, but she had always been under the impression he disapproved of the practice of fostering, thinking that a noble should be responsible for their own consequences.  "When he was recruited to the Grey Wardens, she had the nerve to come and ask me to turn it over so she could force him to take the extreme extra vows as a templar so he would never be a threat to the crown as she'd promised Eamon."

                Elissa couldn't keep her face schooled any longer. "But you protected him, and never forced him to take the vows." She stated unaware of how urgent her voice sounded. She knew Cailan well enough to know he'd never do that to someone, but she was suddenly concerned for her new friend. Eamon was playing a dangerous game hiding Maric's bastard from the nobles. Whether the nobles liked it or not Alistair was the only other heir to the bloodline of Calanhad.

                Cailan shook his head. "Thank the Maker no. My uncle is more concerned about appearances than the fact that there could be a civil war once my reign ends." He looked at her hard as he said forward and placed his hands on his knees. "That's the reason why I need you to get to safety as soon as possible. If I could I'd send Alistair with you, I would. But that's out of my hands now." He said sadly as he scowled at the papers on the desk. "I never wanted this for him." He explained as he sat back in his chair looking off deep in thought. "It was so lonely growing up at court alone, you at least had Fergus but I had no one really, except Anora." He stopped and shook his head and looked back at Elissa. "I wish I could have had him as my brother but... I have to settle for backing the Grey Wardens to the hilt to show any type of support for him since I can't show it openly."He looked beyond angered and frustrated at the restriction. "And now it's too late for any other type of relationship."

                Elissa nodded in sympathy and understanding. "It wasn't possible for him to be fostered to just anyone, it would have had to have been a very minor lord to keep him hidden, because of how much you look alike." He nodded sadly.

                "We're the last of the Therein bloodline." His tone carried with it a weight she understood as it suggested he was saying more than his words implied.

                She placed her hand on his arm before she asked him.  "And from what you've just said I get the feeling you don't expect to have any children?"

                Cailan shook his head sadly. "Anora and I both it seems, have issues. Mine from a training accident when I was much younger and hers from a fall from her horse a few years ago. Magical healing does have its limits when it's delayed. Anora is lucky she can even walk. Without magical healing she would have died, but the healer was too late to fix everything."

                Elissa sighed deeply. "I see." Delays like that was another reason she hated the Chantry's stance on mages being locked up. Templars always had access to magical healing, but everyone else had to wait for permission from the Chantry for a mage to be allowed to come and then the mage to be fetched.

                "Anora cannot stay on the throne once I pass, as much as Loghain is pushing for me to make her my heir. It will only put off the civil war that will break out over secession." He gripped the arm of his chair in aggravation. Elissa was rather concerned by the lack of disciple he was showing at the moment. She'd been taught to always keep a measure of decorum even in extreme circumstances and was flustered by Cailan's lack of control. She had to concentrate on his words rather than his actions as he continued.  "I'd rather see a Cousland on the throne than the country led by Loghain or Anora. Even if it avoided the civil war now, the war will still begin once she died if not before."

                Elissa looked concerned. "What's wrong with Loghain or Anora? He's in charge of your armies here is he not? Do you not trust him? Or her?"

                Cailan got a worried scowl on his face and the lines on his forehead made him seem much older suddenly. "Loghain is paranoid when it comes to Orlais. I have been in touch with the Empress and she is willing to support the Orlais Grey Wardens with supplies to come and help us here, and even offered some troops. It benefits her to stop the Blight before it crosses borders, but Loghain doesn't see it that way. The Grey Wardens from Weisshaupt are unlikely to get here within the next six months. The Anderfels are just too far away from Ferelden." He looked down at the maps on his desk before he looked back up at her. "Honestly if we can't hold them here, I'm afraid by the time we get aid from the bulk of the Grey Warden forces most of Ferelden will be a wasteland like the Anderfels."

                "I thought the battles were going well." Elissa said worried as she looked at the map of Ferelden on the desk. She could see the troop numbers written by each Arldom and Bann. The number of troops was staggering. Ferelden hadn't even fielded this many troops all at once during the rebellion to kick Orlais out of Ferelden. That it might not be enough was alarming.

                Cailan shook his head. "We are holding our own for now, but there are more Darkspawn every day. And the Archdemon and its generals are not yet on the field according to Duncan. In fact he thinks the main forces of the hoard are still deep underground and these battles are just the scouting raids." He said slightly defeated, nothing like the overconfident King she'd seen in court for the past five years.

                Elissa paled. "My cousin..." She choked.

                "And Alistair and the other Grey Wardens are not going to be enough," He looked into her eyes. "And Loghain is still trying to convince me that this is just a raid and not a true Blight. That the wardens are a front for an Orlisian advance." Cailan said in frustration. "My father warned me this Blight would come. He knew twenty years ago that the Darkspawn were breeding in larger numbers in the Deep Roads in preparation for finding the Archdemon."

                "Maric and Duncan were right." Elissa said softly as the feeling of certainty she felt back when it was first discovered that the Darkspawn were coming to the surface solidified in her stomach, nausea making it too difficult to ignore. "I can feel it too." She said as she squeezed his hand in support.

                Cailan sighed in relief and patted her hand affectionately, conveying his gratitude for her emotional and political support. "Then I have made the right choice." He smiled at her and took her hand. "In my letter I have made you queen if I fall, regardless of if Fergus is alive or not. As queen you'll not be expected to be on the front lines, as I am, so the chances of civil war will be reduced in that regard."

                Elissa pulled back in shock. "What? But Fergus..."

                "Is overdue, and other scouts have found a few Highever men dead in the Wilds." Cailan explained, his face clearly showing how much he wished he wasn't the one to convey the news to her. "I'm sorry. I can't wait and hope he'll turn up. You need to be gone in the morning and I can't have two Letters of Succession in circulation with two different heirs, hoping he is still alive."

                Elissa's gut froze with the fear that he might be dead. She'd known it was likely since that night, but she'd hoped and prayed he'd managed to survive anyway. She struggled to hold on to her composure. "What about Alistair?" She asked failing to hide her trepidation. "Wouldn't you want him to take the throne, he at least is of your bloodline? It's been unbroken since Calanhad..."

                Cailan shook his head and once more showed just how much stress he was under in the slumping of his shoulders. "Alistair has been raised to not believe in himself and is too subservient to be a true king on his own, even if he had the strongest queen as consort, the nobles would eat him alive within six months," He looked bitterly angry, "Besides his mother asked for him not to be acknowledged, and my father agreed. Without any training he'd likely end up being a puppet for my uncle." He gave her a knowing look. "And as a Grey Warden he had to-"

                "Give up his birthright." She finished with him at the same time. Sighing deeply she looked him in the eyes. "I'll do everything I can to see Ferelden through this if it comes down to it. I promise you that." She gave him a bitter smile of her own. "And Eamon will have no say in my decisions, especially when it comes to Alistair, this I promise you." Both of them stood. Hope shone in the King’s eyes for a moment.

                Cailan smiled sadly at her and hugged her. "I know. I am depending on you. And I am sorry for putting this burden on you." His guilt at the admission making him slouch down as much as his armor allowed.

                Elissa pulled back and looked him in the eye. "You didn't put this burden on me. I did before I even got here. I knew what was going to happen at least in part when I decided to say what I did at the gate. My duty as a Cousland requires nothing less. I expected to support and help Fergus, and the Wardens, instead he'll have to support and help me when he returns." She said bravely.

                Cailan laughed softly with approval. "You have the heart of a Therein, in you." He looked at her wistfully. In the face of everything she was going through he didn't think he'd be able to hold up as well. He knew she would be strong, the Couslands always had been. Elissa knew he meant it as the highest praise he could give.

                "I'm a Ferelden." She laughed sadly, with the Duty of a Cousland, Heart of a Therein, and the Blood of an Amell. That is a huge expectation to live up to." She sighed as she all but collapsed into her chair. Cailan sat beside her and took out his papers.

                "There is much we need to go over before you leave." He said sadly. She nodded and began going over the papers and correspondence he'd had with the other monarchies about the Blight so far.

 

**The Wilds**

                Duncan had told them they needed to prove themselves as Warden Recruits by facing the Darkspawn, and gathering a vial of their blood. Solona just took the whole thing in stride, knowing what was really going on had a calming effect on her. She felt sorry for Ser Jory and Daveth, even if Daveth went back and forth between annoying and considerate. They had no idea what was going on, but in Ser Jory's case that might be a good thing. The man was whiney and cowardly, especially for a knight. She'd caught Alistair shaking his head sadly at him and knew he didn't think Ser Jory was going to make it through the Joining either.

                So far they had killed several groups of Darkspawn and saved a scout and found some letters, but not the Grey Warden Treaties. In fact the chest that Duncan had believed the treaties to be held in was broken and the magic had depleted so long ago that even the traces were gone. That wasn't her only concern at the moment. While the chest wasn't radiating any magic her senses were telling her that there was another mage using magic nearby.

                "The chest's protection died a long time ago Alistair. The treaties are gone." She said as she stood. "However there is a possible recourse."

                She felt rather than saw the presence hesitate. "And that would be? We really need those treaties." Alistair sighed, looking to her for her suggestion. Solona smiled at the trust he'd shown in her abilities and thoughts so far on this errand.

                "We could ask the mage following us if they have any idea what happened to the treaties when the protection failed." She said smiling softly.

                Alistair and the other two men reacted badly to the suggestion that they were being watched. All three drew weapons and Alistair readied his templar abilities. Solona looked towards the top of the crumbling towers steps to see the female apostate step out of the shadows. "You could ask." The woman said, mocking laughter in her voice.

                "She's a witch of the wilds." She heard Daveth whisper loudly.

                Solona sighed and ignored the men behind her and walked towards the apostate. Alistair went to grab her arm but Solona just shook her head at him and he backed up. "Hello, I'm Solona Amell, a Grey Warden Recruit."

                The witch was watching her with interest, but the body language radiated disgust and impatience. "Well that is a proper greeting, even in such a wild place as this. You may call me Morrigan."

                Solona smiled and nodded her head in greeting. "Nice to meet you Morrigan, my companions are also Warden Recruits; Ser Jory, and Daveth and our Warden Recruiter Alistair." She said introducing the others in turn.

                "What is she doing?" Daveth whispered to Alistair. "She's going get us all turned into toads she is."

                Solona gave them all a glare, Alistair motioned for them to follow her lead despite his own wish to dismiss the apostate. That managed to shut Daveth up for the present and Ser Jory and Alistair watched carefully. Morrigan looked impressed. "Nice to meet _you_ , as well."

                "Can you help us? We are trying to locate the documents that were stored in this chest before the enchantments failed."Solona asked politely. She made every effort to portray herself as open and honest to the witch, but not subservient, the witch seemed to only understand mental fortitude and cleverness.

                 Alistair wanted to step in but even he could see Solona had taken the right approach to the apostate. He didn't like how close she was to the wild mage but he wasn't going to start something while Amell was standing between him and this Morrigan person. While he was sure they could take the witch down if it came to that, something was telling him to just let Amell use her people skills. He instead turned to Daveth. "Stop talking, let Amell negotiate with her." He ordered with a whisper and a glare of his own. Up until now he'd overall liked the thief despite his overly flirtatious attitude, this cowardly behavior was disappointing, especially since Ser Jory was already a huge let down. At least Amell was not only a good fighter but she was smart, unlike the others.

                "I do know where they are." Morrigan was saying as Alistair turned his attention back to the two mages. He had to take his own advice and not accuse her of stealing them herself, he bit down on his tongue slightly to keep quiet, his sarcasm wasn't going to help any right now.

                Solona got the impression Morrigan was trying to be antagonistic on purpose, as if she was trying to gloat them into saying and doing something stupid. Before the others could respond to the barbs she smiled widely as if Morrigan had just handed her the documents themselves. "Oh thank you so much Morrigan. The Grey Wardens need those documents to help fight the Blight."

                Morrigan blinked as if surprised, but nodded slowly with a shrewdness that made Solona wary. "Follow me then. I will lead you to the one who holds them."They followed the witch quietly for over an hour.

 

**Duncan's Fire Upper Camp**

                It was hours later when a very tired looking Elissa came out of the tent but she saw Duncan sitting by his fire waiting for the others to return. She walked over to him. "Hello Duncan." She sat beside him and stared into the fire.

                "Your Grace." He said softly. He waited until she had sat herself down and warmed herself by the fire before he placed a small pack of letters into her hands. "If you could deliver these to the compound in Denerim, the seneschal Varel should be able to liaison with you regarding our needs and what support we could use. I would be most grateful to you for your efforts."

                She smiled sadly at the older Warden. "Of course, Duncan."

                Duncan seemed to smile at her. "Can I ask you something my Lady?"

                Elissa nodded and gave him an encouraging smile. She wanted their relationship to be an open one if she was going to be working on the Orders behalf, it was best to be on good terms with the Commander. And she really did respect the man who had helped save not only herself but her cousin's life, even if her feelings of anger and her actions seemed to suggest otherwise. "Yes, of course."

                "How do you know so much about the Grey Wardens?" He asked while looking deeply into her eyes. He seemed to be trying to read her mind or at least watch to see if he could deduce if she would lie to him.

                Elissa managed to keep her face passive but Duncan seemed to sense her effort all the same. "I'm not sure what you mean?" She said carefully while portraying a confused demeanor.

                "The Joining." He replied as he stared into the fire, he'd hoped she wouldn't be this evasive. "I never told you about it, or called it by that name. You and Solona have used the term." He was not at all taken in by her innocence act. His disappointment with her answer added weight to his words.

                Elissa sighed, she was too tired to continue to hate him for something she'd have done herself if their roles had been reversed. She was also too tired to try to hide the truth when it really wouldn't matter in the long run. He would either accept it or not, either way there was no reason not to share it with him at this point. "I'm the descendent of a warden's child." Duncan's eyes seemed slightly pensive even as his face showed no emotion. "She left some papers and a diary behind when she was exiled from Ferelden during the Strom Age."

                Duncan raised his brows in surprise as he looked at her, but he nodded. "That would explain things." He seemed both concerned and relieved. "Who else knows what you do?" He asked. His voice betrayed concern. "The Wardens protect their secrets jealously. If they find out about that diary they'll likely try to force the issue at a later date." He warned her carefully. It wasn't as if he could do anything about her knowledge beyond warning her to keep the secrets. While the Order would likely ask him to do something about it, her title protected her in a way that made her untouchable right now since she was literally under the protection of the King.

                "I know." Elissa said reassuringly. "No one but you, Solona, Fergus and myself knows the diary exists. Only Solona knows what is in the diary. Fergus will likely think they have been destroyed once he hears about Highever, and he has never read them to my knowledge. That's if he thinks of them at all." She explained softly. "Solona had a right to know what she'd been thrust into."

                Duncan looked conflicted. "I wish that was possible for all recruits, but the Wardens hide that information for a reason." He said sternly thinking of his current recruits.

                Elissa shrugged. "I can understand that considering my mother only gave me the diary when I said I was thinking about joining a few months ago. She wanted me to know what I would be giving up in hopes of persuading me from joining. She wanted more grand-children after all." Elissa said with a sad pain-filled smile. "But of course you know before the fall of the castle I had every intention of joining the Order, even as informed as I was about what happens to you all."

                Duncan looked at her with a proud expression. "I remember you asking. Did your father know too?"

                Elissa nodded sadly. "Only that I could die and likely end up childless."

                Duncan looked away sadly. "That is a possibility yes, although you know that it is possible to have children as a warden." He said looking towards her.

                She nodded slowly. "About five years before the corruption spreads too far, at least for the women."

                He shook his head at the level of information the dairy had within it. "So you know everything about the Wardens that your ancestor knew?" He asked.

                She shrugged solemnly. "Possibly, I know about the taint, nightmares, the Darkspawn song, the appetite, stamina, fortitude, blood magic rituals, the death rate of the Joining, the rarity of children, and of course The Calling. And Solona knows all this too." She didn't mention the increased in sexual appetite since it wasn't something she really wanted to discuss with the older warden.

                Duncan shook his head in wonder. "And still you would have joined us... And she is without complaint." He chuckled darkly. "I'm not so sure I would have been so willing had I known back when I was a young man of twenty. I do not know if that makes you both brave, or insane." He said with a slight bit of awe in his voice.

                The level of dedication they had humbled him. He'd been forced to be a warden and it was only after meeting the Architect in the Deep Roads that he'd understood what it was to be a Warden. Elissa already knew and had been willing. It was a great blow to the Wardens in his opinion that she was lost to them, but it was a great gain for Ferelden and he was proud of the girl for standing up to him so she could serve the people of his home country best. Her willingness to work with the Wardens could be supported and she could be protected. He'd need to add an extra letter to Weisshaupt in the morning detailing his recruitment of her as a Warden Ally. It would allow for her to know some of their secrets and still allow her to avoid being an issue later to the leadership of the Wardens.

                Elissa smiled and laughed softly. He stared at her for a second as she did, it was the first time he'd heard it and it made him smile to know she was recovering. "The purpose and duty to Thedes is what was important to me, and now in a Blight the Wardens are more important than ever. I just wish my duty was as straight forward as yours and now Solona's." She stared into the fire as she continued to speak. "She is just glad to be able to do something with her life that will be useful rather than being useless in the tower."

                Elissa slouched down and crossed her arms around her body and let her mask fall as she continued to stare into the fire. "If Cailan falls, I will have to; stop a Civil War from breaking out, hold the throne of a country surrounded by enemies, and combat a Blight by allowing troops from these neighbours in. Once those troops are here, I must contend with the threat that there is no guarantee they will leave once we stop the Blight. On top of that I must make sure the people are as safe as I can make them; feed them, shelter them when the Blight destroys their livelihoods and homes." She let her tears fall. "Believe me I would love to have joined the Order instead."

                Duncan cried a tear for the young girl in front of him who had just poured her heart out to him. She had lost so much and now had the fate of a nation on her shoulders. His own duties did seem a much lighter and easier burden to shoulder than the one she had taken on. If he fell he had the benefit of knowing the Orlais and the Anderfels Wardens would eventually stop the Blight before it destroyed Thedas. Elissa _was_ the back-up plan for Ferelden, she had no choice but to succeed, failure meant the fall of a nation and its people.

                "Never doubt you have a soul of a Warden Elissa Cousland." Duncan told her proudly." Being one of us is a calling, while you may not be a blooded member of the Order, you will always be a Warden in my eyes." Elissa threw herself into his arms and cried, feeling safe in his arms as she had in her own father's as a child. Duncan held her as if she were his own child and placed his cloak over her shoulders after she fell into an exhausted sleep. "You are one of us Elissa Cousland." He whispered into her hair as she slept on. He picked her up and carried her to the Highever tent set-up near the hospital. With the help of one of the female Highever knights, he placed her in her cot. He left his cloak behind draped over her. The heraldry of the two-headed Warden Commander Griffin across her sleeping form, adding additional protection from the cold air.

**Evening in The Wilds (Flemeth's hut)**

                It was nearing nightfall when the group arrived at the hut in the woods where they met Flemeth. Solona knew the name and suddenly couldn't hide that she was on edge. Alistair very carefully stayed back with the two other men and kept them quiet, especially Daveth. When Daveth was about to go off on his tirade about witches of the wilds again Ser Jory shushed him. "If she is one do you really want to make her mad?" Ser Jory had finally hissed at him, making Daveth whimper and finally quiet down. Alistair rolled his eyes at the two men, it figured one would be brave when the other was being a coward. Too bad they couldn't work it out so they could both be brave at the same damn time.

                Flemeth handed over the treaties easily and suggest Morrigan lead them back. Flemeth grabbed Solana's arm as they made to leave. "You and the Queen have been found. The other six will be needed in the coming years. Not too long now." She looked towards the men. Solona was sure she was staring at Alistair. Flemeth narrowed her eyes in deep thought, "Or perhaps only five. It is so hard to see at this stage which way things shall go." She looked deeply into Solana's eyes. She could feel the magic of the older woman flowing like a river, but rubbing uncomfortable over her skin like sandpaper. "Never discard an ally, you never know when one will need to become an Amell, or who will become powerful enough to help you later on. Not all allies will be a member of the Eight." Flemeth let her go suddenly, leaving Solona deeply shaken and stumbling away.

                "I'll take your advice to heart Asha'bellanar." Solona said shaking slightly but standing straight once she regained her footing. The things Irving had said about this woman had her very much on edge.  The use of the Elvin name was deliberate, outside of the Dalish only a few truly used it or knew that the reason behind the name betrayed a clue to how old she was.

                The old woman chuckled and nodded, accepting Solona's use of the Elvin moniker without comment. "You'll do well child of Valor, you'll do well." She turned and walked away.

                Solona gratefully caught up to Alistair and stayed in step with him allowing the others to get slightly ahead of them so they could talk without fear of being overheard by Morrigan or the other recruits. "What was that about?" he asked quietly.

                Solona shook her head. "I'm not sure." She looked at him with questioning eyes. "She was being evasive, but I think she was talking about the Amell Prophecy." She said more to herself than to him. It was a habit she'd started in the Tower. She found it easier to work things through out loud than in her head.

                Alistair looked confused and suddenly he felt very wary.  The situation until now had been fairly stressful, they were fighting Darkspawn, evil incarnate and all that but suddenly the idea of something 'more' was more unsettling than fighting the Horde. "What is the Amell Prophecy?" He asked hesitantly.

                Solona was also unnerved. As a child she'd thought the idea romantic, a destiny to fulfill and the reward of adventure. To a girl starved for experiences it was an idea that appealed to her. Now that she was suddenly out in the world without much preparation the idea that the prophecy might be coming true was petrifying.

                She swallowed the large scream that wanted to bubble up from her lungs and began to explain what she knew. "When my great-grandmother had her fourth child a prophecy was made about four 'Daughters of Amell' having to save all of Thedes." She whispered to him. Her fear was irrational and seemed to be trying to choke her ability to talk about it loudly, as if that would make it suddenly come to pass in that moment. "It says that four daughters will have to save the world through several major events." She gave him a fearful look. "Flemeth just implied that the Prophecy is in play _now_ , and I think that she was suggesting that Elissa and I are two of the four daughters."

                Alistair's eyes widened and he stumbled as his footing became slightly unsteady. "Do you know the actual wording?"

                Solona reached out and helped steady him a little. Grabbing his arm helped to ground her own fear. Her fear receded slightly as she held onto his arm. There was something steadying about Alistair that even now when he was obviously uncomfortable she felt safe.  "I was only five when the Chantry took me from home, but I've had letters from my mother that warned me of the prophecy. She said she'd arranged for me to be told the details in time. She thought all the female Amells should all be warned because some day it would be us that the prophecy would fall upon." She looked towards the rest of the party unseeingly. "She died three years ago and I was never told the actual words."

                Alistair looked surprised and focused on the easier subject for a moment as he tried to process the foreboding feelings that a prophecy could be working against them was churning in his belly and the fear of female tears, he had no idea how to deal with that either. "You were five? I thought magic didn't manifest until much older, around twelve. How old are you anyway?" Deflection seem to be a good choice as Solona looking at him blinking very quickly but then gave him a small grateful smiled and perked up.

                "I’m seventeen.” Alistair’s eyes bugged out a bit but he just blinked and waited for her to continue. “Twelve is average, some are even later, as old as eighteen, but earlier children like me are usually only in families that have high levels of magic in their bloodlines, or because of an extreme trauma that causes the magic to manifest . All my older siblings were mages." She said sadly. "Most of them were taken before their seventh birthday."

                Alistair's eyes almost were popping out of his head. "How many siblings do you have?" Even when magic was strong in families it was odd to have more than two become mages, unless the parents themselves were mages, then the chances increased. It was one of the reasons the Chantry didn't like Mages having children.

                "Three." She answered sadly. "I've never truly met them of course. I was never allowed to visit the other circles." She explained needlessly, of course Alistair knew that siblings were separated purposefully so they couldn't work together to escape."Elissa is the only surviving member of my family I know personally." she refrained from mentioning Fergus since several soldier's they'd cut down in the woods while fighting Darkspawn had been Highever men, although none had been her cousin, the Wilds were a large place and his body could be anywhere.

                "Would any of your siblings know the prophecy?" He asked thoughtfully again shying away from discussing something that might make her cry. She shrugged but was distracted.

                "I don't know for sure, but likely my older sister would. I suppose I could write her and ask." She smiled at him and took his arm as she was used to doing with Templar escorts. "You and I have some things in common, did you know that?" He looked at her startled, not following her question. "I am looking forward to having what you have found with the Wardens."

                "And what's that?" He asked carefully.

                "Family and acceptance." She smiled warmly at him. "I might have brothers but never got to know them. But so far you are the first of my new family, my older brother."

                Alistair looked down at his feet. "Yeah." He wanted to say more but with the Joining still to go and the chance of her dying he wasn't sure what more he could say. He had been warned by the older Wardens not to spend too much time talking to the recruits and getting to know them until afterwards. He knew if she didn't make it the pain was going to be very real, even if he didn't know her well, he was still going to miss her already.

                HIs expression twisted into a grimace of grief and she knew she had to reassure him, despite the warnings Elissa had given her. Alistair was too important to her already to allow him to worry like this when she could help him. She cleared her throat purposefully to regain his attention, when he looking at her she promised him, "I won't die on you Alistair," with a whisper, not wanting to be overheard even more with this topic than the other. "In magic, prophecy trumps everything, even blood rites like the Joining." She explained quietly, blatantly hinting him she knew more than he believed.

                Alistair looked at her with an anxious look. "What do you..."

                Solona shook her head with a smile. "You'd be surprised what gets left behind in family chests and what secrets they include." He still looked uneasy so she kept talking. “Just know that I would have volunteered to do this, knowing what I know if I had been given the choice. My conscription does not change my level of commitment."

                Alistair looked at her in amazement. "And you know what exactly?"

                She stopped and stared into Alistair's eyes. "I know everything." He shivered at the cold tone she used, but he believed her.

                "That's a little creepy, little sister." He finally said softly. "Don't do it again." He said with a playful shiver. "That’s just as bad as swooping." He muttered.

                She chuckled. "You're going to need to explain this swooping issue you have." And he chuckled and did just that, at length with arm motions and sound effects as they walked a little faster to catch up with the others.

 

                The next morning saw the return of the very tired recruits and the treaties. Duncan had handed them to Elissa when she came to say goodbye just after first light. He asked her to hand-deliver them to a Warden messenger in Lothering before heading on to Denerim.  He also handed her an extra letter. "Guard this with your life until you can hand it off to a Warden Commander, or Captain to get it to the Warden Leadership."

                Elissa looked at it. The letter was inside of a decorative metal sheath to protect it from damage and both ends sealed with wax and pressed with Duncan's seal. She'd never seen letter vials like this before. "What..." She could tell the vial was full of parchment, it felt heavy.

                Duncan whispered in her ear. "It makes you a Warden Ally, a non-blooded, or avowed Warden, but one of us in a way that won't jeopardize your own mission."

                Elissa shivered as she stepped back and nodded her understanding of what Duncan was handing her. In her hand was the future of the Ferelden Grey Wardens. If the Order here fell, it would be up to her and the seneschal Varel to see that the letter was used to help the Order rise again within Ferelden. It also would protect her if any of the knowledge she knew was discovered by the Warden Leadership. They would assume she'd been told by Duncan, rather than reveal the existence of the diary.

                She tried to hand back Duncan's cloak but he shook his head and placed it around her and refastening it to her shoulder guards. "Not many would willingly attack a Warden, even less a Warden-Commander. Wear it as a warning to all that you are under my protection, and that of the Order."

                She nodded and hugged the old Warden tightly. "Thank you for forgiving me." She said working hard to control her tears. She managed with a loud sniff and Duncan hugged her back.

                "There is nothing to forgive, and you forgave me." He told her sternly. "You are one of us, remember that. You are just fighting the Darkspawn in a different way than on the battlefield." The look he gave her reminded her of the few times her father was trying to instill an important fact to her before a political event.

                She nodded and smiled fondly at him taking a moment to let him know by squeezing his arm she understood and was grateful. She then turned to her cousin. "I am sorry to bring you here and then leaving without you." Elissa tried to keep her mask but failed, this time as her eyes filled with tears once more. "I hope I left enough money for anything you need." She felt like she was failing her family once more, leaving them behind.

                Solona hugged her back fiercely and nodded. "Don't worry it's more than enough. You saved my life by getting me out of the tower. I now have a chance to be someone, and do something with my life instead of moldering away in that stuffy old tower. I'll survive the Joining, I promise." She gave Elissa a proud smile. "Even if I die here, I've already had a better life. I'll die free." She said with a conviction that shook everyone around her. They all took their freedom for granted, seeing someone who had been denied it but willing to risk it all for a life they all had was sobering.

                Alistair cleared his throat loudly trying to dispel the intense feelings and stepped forward, putting out his hand. "I'll look out for her."  He promised her. "She's my little sister now." He said turning his head and giving Solona a big smile. Solona chuckled and gave Elissa a wink.

                Elissa took his hand, and shook it as she placed her other hand on his shoulder.  She wished she had the excuse to hug him too. Instead she gave him a very grateful smile that took his breath away. "I'll hold you to that Alistair." She said sadly as she stepped away and mounted the horse she'd arrived at the camp on. Flynn, her mabari waited quietly beside her.

                "Wait." Solona called out suddenly as the sight of the dog jogged her tired memory. "I have something for you." She took out a flower and handed it to Elissa. "Feed it to Flynn, it's supposed to help protect him from Darkspawn taint."

                Elissa looked down at the flower. "Did you remember?" Her eyes widened as she looked down at the flower, than back up into Solona's eyes. She hoped it was the herb mentioned in the diary to help her cousin survive her Joining.

                Solona nodded. "I collected as many as I could find. The local kennel master knew of it and asked us to gather some. I gave him a few but saved one especially for Flynn." Elissa nodded her thanks and prayed it was the right herb needed.

                "Stay safe." Elissa pleaded with her.

                Solona nodded. "You too." The group watched as Elissa turned her horse and rode to meet her small contingent of guards at the entrance to the bridge. They left quickly. Solona stayed until she saw Elissa pass through the gate on the other side.

                Alistair placed his hand on Solona's shoulder. She jumped slightly as his touch pulled her from her thoughts."Time to get some sleep, and then we'll perform the Joining around midday." Solona nodded and slowly turned to the Warden Recruit Camp beside Duncan's fire.


	3. Chapter 3

 

**Ostagar early afternoon (2 nd of Kingsway)**

                Solona could hear the male members of their group arguing outside her tent. "Daveth I will wake her." Alistair was growling with aggravation. "You will not enter her tent." She smiled at the protective tone he used. She knew he wasn't fond of the thief's flirty nature, however, she was used to such behavior, being playful but not serious.

                Anders, a fellow Spirit Healer Enchanter who had studied with her for a little while, was just as notorious for his flirting as he was his escape attempts. Anders wasn't the only mage to have attempted to flirt with her. She knew how to handle males who didn't like to take no for an answer, Anders had been the one to teach her that, too. He taught her to fight dirty, and that's why he was her favorite Enchanter, that is, when he was actually within the living areas of the Tower and not escaped or in solitary.

                Cullen's gentleman-like behavior was one of the reasons she had adored and respected him, unlike some of her fellow mages he'd treated her with proper gentile manners. Cullen watching over her had helped to keep some of the more disrespectful males at a distance.

                "It's alright Alistair. I'm awake." She called out, hoping to stop any of them from coming in. She'd been so tired when she crawled into her tent that morning she'd only removed some of her armor and not bothered to dress for sleeping. "I'll be out in a few minutes."

                Alistair cleared his throat meaningfully, she assumed it was meant for Daveth since it had a tone that suggested growled aggravation. "Alright Solona. Duncan has breakfast ready for us."

                "Thank you." She called out, putting her breastplate back on. She could hear the men still outside her tent, but they were closer to the fire than her tent now. Ser Jory and Daveth were talking about the Joining. Jory seemed to be back to stressing out about having to 'pass another test', while Daveth seemed to be taking it in stride.

                She could smell the hot cereal, she wouldn't call it porridge, it was too runny. She sighed with disgust. The quality of the food was the only thing she'd missed about the Circle so far. Having Alistair here was making the adjustment to being in the outside world easier. With his Chantry upbringing and his templar training he felt familiar enough to help her feel more like this new life wasn't a complete break from everything she had ever known.  He was like a safety blanket, someone she could relate to. She had the Grey Warden diary and Elissa to focus on during the trip here so she hadn't had time to really let the situation hit her until now, not to mention, Ser Harmon had been there.

                This afternoon was different. She could feel a difference. Her whole concentration shifted to focus on the fact that her life had fully changed and that her choices from here on in would be free from the rules that until now she had lived her life by. As far back as she could remember someone had been watching her every move, either a templar or other one of the other mages. Now  she only had to answer to Alistair and Duncan, and even with Alistair he was more of an equal than an authority figure. Duncan was another matter all together. He gave off a fatherly vibe at times, like Irving did. Since they had arrived he'd flipped between that image and his Commander persona. It often changed to fatherly when he directed his attention towards Alistair or Elissa, but not when it was just her. Solona wasn't insulted, she just assumed Duncan had bonded with them in a particular way.

                She finished putting on her armor and stepped out of her tent. The others were gathered around the fire. Ser Jory and Daveth were staring at Alistair as he ate. She had to stifle a giggle as she watched Alistair shovel the cereal into his mouth as if he hadn't eaten in a week. Even Duncan was watching him with an amused smile on his face.

                "Best get a bowl for yourself, before Alistair eats all the breakfast." Duncan said lightly as he passed her an empty bowl.

                She yawned and took the bowl. "Thank you." She moved over to the pot and spooned herself a small portion and added some honey to it. She sat down next to the other recruits on the far side of the fire from Duncan. He was going over a few reports and she didn't want to intrude.

                She ate in silence as Ser Jory and Daveth were still talking quietly, wondering what else was going to happen. Once again she felt slightly guilty for knowing ahead of time what was to come and she was grateful they didn't pull her into their speculations. Once she was done eating, Duncan had announced it was time to head to the old temple for the Joining Ceremony.

                The feeling of anticipation was coursing through her, she stealthily placed one of the golden wild flowers she'd found in the Wilds into her mouth. She chewed the sweet flower and felt her heart rate calm as she became hyper aware of her surroundings.

                Following the others to the Temple her perception began to change, by the time they reached the place where she had initially met Alistair she was almost completely in a trance like state. The ceremony itself was more a blur of colors and sensations to her. The events seemed to be going on with her as an outside observer or as a passenger within her own skin. Duncan offered her the cup first and she reached out with a very dream-like feeling she had come to expect only in the Fade. Her focus narrowed to the cup and its contents only as the black corruption within called to her. The blood was singing to her, not unlike the lyrium song that all mages could hear when they drank from the small blue vials.

                The thick, foul blackness contained within the chalice had red and blue swirls on its surface, and the consuming metallic smell seemed to coat her throat and tongue with a revolting, sickly, oily film as she breathed.  Detached, she calmly drank it. She felt the cup being taken from her, and the sensation of falling was abruptly stopped and she felt her body slowly being lowered to the ground, followed by a few moments of complete darkness.

                Very abruptly, the Archdemon was roaring in front of her from the dark. Ugly, black and purple skin with dead black eyes staring through her, she felt something inherently evil about the beast as she beheld the red aura radiating from its very presence. The Fade did nothing to hide its horror, nor did it seem to enhance it, the Archdemon just was. The only thing in the empty wasteland around them was the demon dragon with its large maw of deadly teeth and body of powerful muscles. "I know you mageling." she felt as if its eyes were speaking to her. "I see you mageling." It flexed its wings, roaring and presenting itself, flaunting the power behind it's every move.

                Solona's eyes snapped open and she very abruptly sat up, gasping for air. She no longer felt as if she were in a daze, her ability to focus very suddenly returned. Duncan had jumped back quickly as she snapped up but Alistair hadn't moved so quickly. Solona screamed as she found herself literally nose to nose with a very distressed Alistair. On instinct she slapped him and scurried away until her back hit the wall.

                "Ow." He whined. "That hurt." His white cheek was quickly filling with a bright red hand print even before he could raise his hand to cover it.

                Solona quickly reoriented herself. Duncan for his part chuckled darkly at Alistair's pout. He held out his hand to help pull her to her feet. "Next time you might want to react quicker." He said to Alistair, failing to keep the amusement from his voice.

                She looked down in embarrassment. "I am so sorry Ali..." She began to apologize.

                Alistair waved her apology away. "Nah, I shouldn't have been so surprised when you sat up. I know the dreams you can get when the Joining happens." He shivered in memory. "Right scary aren't they?"

                She gave him a shaky smile. "Thank you." She said before shivering. "I certainly wasn't expecting that dream though. Does the dragon actually talk or was my imagination just adding to the freakiness of the dream?" Duncan and Alistair gave each other a knowing look before looking back at her. 

                Duncan gave her a grim smile. "I guess the diary wouldn't have mentioned them. The dreams are worse for those who join during a blight." He explained. "Alistair was the first to join during this one, so his dreams have been worse than most."

                "What diary?" Alistair asked in confusion, he was trying to avoid discussing his Joining dream. Not unlike Solona's, the Archdemon had been the only focus of his dream and had scared the pants off him.

                "I'll explain later." she said to Alistair while giving Duncan a searching look. Elissa had obviously told him about the diary, and he wasn't asking for it so maybe he didn't know who had it. In fact she wasn't sure if she or Elissa had it last.

                Alistair was the one to ask the question they both obviously wanted to ask her regarding the dream. "It spoke to you? What did it say?"

                She looked away and thought deeply for a moment before  shaking her head slowly, wanting to make sure she said what felt right, the flower clouding her perception was also skewing her ability to accurately tell them what happened. "No." She said as she came to the conclusion that it hadn't talked so much as it was something else in the way it communicated. "But it's eyes focused on me and I could feel its hatred. It was almost as if its thoughts were right there in its eyes." She trembled as she thought of the dragon's dead black eyes. "The eyes seemed to say it could see me and knew who I was."

                Both Alistair and Duncan looked a little unnerved to be discussing the possibility of the Archdemon speaking. "It's name is Urthemiel." Duncan said softly.

                Solona couldn't help it, she snorted and laughed, the edge of it dark with the irony. She knew who Urthemiel was suppose to be, every mage knew. It was one of the many lessons on why mages were considered cursed and was part of the justification for locking them up. Urthemiel was one of the seven that had sent their high priests to conquer the Golden City from the Maker. "It's actually the Tevinter god of beauty? Seriously? I've never seen an uglier looking dragon!" Duncan let out a surprised bark of laughter. Alistair gasped at her as Duncan continued to laugh at her audacity.

                "When have you seen a dragon? I thought you lived in the Tower?" Alistair managed to spit out through his disbelief. While the wardens were quick to laugh and drink, Alistair had never heard anyone laugh and joke about an Archdemon before. It seemed almost sacrilegious.         

                Solona shrugged but continued to chuckle at the very idea that the ugly dragon was the old god of beauty. "There are usually a few dragonlings in the beast master's care. The Circles needs fresh dragon blood for several different things, like enchanting."

                "Huh, I never thought about things like that being in the tower." Alistair looked distracted. "I would have thought they kept them elsewhere and the blood shipped in supplies." His suggestion would have made sense if the need wasn't for warm blood specifically.

                While she and Alistair talked about the other creatures she had seen during her time in the Circle, she wondered why Duncan seemed so relieved. No one had explained to her that hearing the Archdemon or the Darkspawn was not a good thing for a brand new recruit. There had been a few in the past but they tended to not last very long. Understanding the Horde song and words was usually a sign of the advancement of the Calling. Without reading the diary for himself, Duncan  could not know whether or not she knew of the calling, and perhaps it just didn't mention the calling at all. That the diary only covered the first five years of Rava's tenure as a Warden had not been discussed either; the woman's journal entries had ended a few months after the healthy birth of her son. The last entry shared the taint was almost negligible in the child, but the boy seemed quite strong for a newborn.

                Duncan looked up at the sky and judged the time to be very close to the meeting time for the War council. "It is good you recovered from your joining so early." Duncan said with a hint of warmth and laughter in his tone once more. "The King has asked that we join him at the war table as soon as you woke, but you have a little time to freshen up if you like. Alistair, you are invited to come along to the war counsel with us, as always."

                Alistair took a quick look at Solona and then shook his head. "It's best if I am not anywhere near Cailan it seems." He says stiffly. His meaningful look and Solona's bashful one told Duncan that Alistair and Cailan's secret was out, at least with the cousins. Duncan didn't know if he should be proud they figured it out or worried that it seemed so easy for people to see.

                "I'll head back to camp and get a few of the others to help me with the pyre for Daveth and Jory." Alistair turned to Solona. "I'll introduce you to the others after the battle this evening. As the only mage and woman in the Wardens at the moment you will be camping up here with us and not in the regular Army camp." He waited for her to nod her understanding.

                Alistair's face fell as he took a deep breath and stiffened as he prepared to finish the Joining ritual. "And before I forget, here you go Sole." Alistair said softly as he passed her an amulet with a vial worked into it. "It's called Warden's Oath. We keep a small bit of the blood from the Joining Chalice as a reminder of those that didn't make it." Feeling somber, she took the vial, giving him an encouraging smile for remembering to call her by her nickname. He moved forward and hugged her once more "Glad to see you on this side little sister." He breathed, his voice filled with the relief he felt.

                "I promised I would." Solona returned his painfully tight hug. Duncan looked on surprised and gladdened by how close the two had become in just a day. He smiled sadly, knowing the possibility of losing her as quickly as they recruited her; she had no battle experience and the Wardens were expected to be on the front lines once more this evening. Still it warmed his heart to see Alistair happy and accepted for once, the fact that it was mage made him chuckle. Alistair's ability to rile them up with his sarcasm was a constant source of contention with the Senior Enchanters.

                She looked around for the remains of Daveth and Jory. Off to the side the other two were already wrapped in two shrouds of white half hidden behind the edge of the wall. "Thank you." She told him solemnly. "Just give me a minute first before we go, please." Duncan nodded invited Alistair to talk privately while Solona approached the bodies.

                It was the first time she had seen the corpse of someone she knew. There had been failed Harrowings while she had been in the tower, but the Templars had always removed their remains before the apprentices had woken in the mornings. It was one of the few kindnesses of the Order. Of course that kindness was off-set by the practice of Tranquility and seeing the branded ex-mages walk around like dead that could talk but had no emotions.

                She knelt down and touched Daveth's shoulder. "Goodbye Daveth, overall I think you were a good man doing the best you could with what you had, and I'm sorry." Turning to Jory's, she rested a hand on his shoulder as well. "I know I should have told you, but I didn't want to be the one to tell you your family could be dead. At least now you are together, if that is the truth." She kissed the vial and then placed it in a pouch on her belt. She didn't want to take Cullen's enchanted amulet off, and wearing more than one enchanted piece of jewelry around one's neck was not recommended. Of the two, Cullen's amulet held more protective magic and still meant more to her than anything else she owned.

                When she walked back Duncan was gone but Alistair was waiting. "Let's get you your Warden Armor from the quartermaster."

                Solona and Alistair walked quietly over to the quartermaster and she got her Warden issued blue and silverite mage armor. On the way back she stopped in and looked in on the dog they had saved by bringing the flower back. The dog had looked up and tried to stand once it saw Solona but the kennel master got the dog to settle once Solona had allowed the dog to sniff her fingers and lick them. She told the dog she would be back later after the battle, but she could feel the dog watching her as she entered her tent not too far away.

                She changed quickly into the new armor, it was much more protective than robes and covered way more than the phoenix armor did. It still did not look like mage robes in the slightest, as she had expected. Instead it was a light chainmail and leather coat decorated with blue and silver stripes, studs that laced at the sides with leather breaches underneath,  very sturdy boots, and gauntlets that allowed for a good grip on her staff. In the middle of the chest was an elegant silverite plate that had the griffon symbol of the Grey Wardens. She placed her phoenix armor into her pack. As she walked out she could see Cailan walking toward the old temple entrance, where the meeting would be held.

                Alistair's expression hardened. "You'll need to follow him to make the meeting in time." he spoke bitterly.

                She allowed her confusion to show as she spoke to him. "Why were we invited and not the others?" It made no sense that the two newest recruit would be invited to a special War Council meeting but not the Warden-Captain or Leftenants.

                Alistair looked uncomfortable. "Duncan as Commander of the Wardens is part of the War Council. The others stay down in the army camp. With the Joining being as dangerous as it is we don't introduce new recruits to the main group until they are full wardens."

                Solona placed a hand on his arm. "That's very understandable." She said comfortingly knowing that he was still affected by the deaths of Daveth and Ser Jory. "But why us, the newest recruits?" She asked again.

                Alistair sighed as he looked down at his boots. "I don't know why I'm invited to be honest.  I tend to just stand in the back and keep my mouth shut or say what I think to Duncan only. People think I'm the wardens' messenger or something I think." Solona thought there had to be more to it than that, and likely Alistair did too, but he was uncomfortable with the topic so she didn't press him too hard about it. "As for you going tonight with Duncan at Cailan's request, I think Cailan wants to see if you survived." He grumbled while staring at his feet. “You being Elissa’s cousin and all that.”

                She shook her head and placed a hand on his shoulder getting him to look at her. "I think he is trying to get to know you in the only way he knows how." She whispered. "It can't be easy, wanting to know you, but having to keep your secret to protect you."

                He shrugged but his frown said a lot about how disappointed he was with the situation. "But I am still a secret, and I'll only stay a secret if I stay away from him." He sighed bitterly.  "How many others do you think have put two and two together before now?" He looked more like a pouting boy than a warrior Grey Warden to her at the moment.

                "No one." She said giving him her honest opinion. He looked up at her surprised, her sincerity showing on her face. "People would be more respectful or more scornful to you if they knew, depending on how much they think you can help or hinder their agenda in influencing him." She explained. Politics was one subject she knew well thanks to Irving who had been trying to train her to one day become first enchanter herself, and Elissa's letters, which were often full of the political maneuvers of the nobles. "No one treats you as anything but Duncan's apprentice or junior officer as far as I've seen." Alistair was looking at her with a thoughtful look.

                "Except for Loghain, and the reverent mother." He said with a small chuckle. "She treats me as a..."

                She laughed. "She uses you as the most irritating messenger she can legitimately use to remind all us mages we're being watched? That has nothing to do with Cailan. She uses you because of your talents that we mages can sense, if we try." She paused and looked at him innocently. "And of course Elissa who isn't interested in using you... politically at all." She hadn't met Loghain yet so she just ignored that part.

                Alistair blushed at the mention of Elissa but laughed quietly with her. "I'm not watching you like a templar just so you know." He assured her, his eyes betraying just a hint of how much rejection could hurt him right then.

                Solona shrugged his concern off so he wouldn’t suspect she had seen his vulnerability. "To be honest it helps me right now... It's familiar. I can't remember the last time I was ever alone, or not being watched over." She sighed and shivered slightly at the idea of truly being alone. "There was always someone else nearby, even on the way here to camp. Elissa or Ser Harmon or even Duncan was right there." She explained. "Too much change at once would be very unnerving, so when I am sensing your abilities, it is like being reminded that I'm not alone. That I am safe when I am with you."

                Alistair looked sad for her but gave her a hug to show her his support. "I never really thought of that. And how about being outside? Away from the Tower I mean." He asked her as he stepped back from the hug.

                "That's new too. It's been three years since I was literally outside in open air before Duncan took me out."  She explained with a dark look. She was still annoyed with Anders for that one. Every mage in the Tower had been punished for his escape attempt by being forced to stay indoors for the foreseeable future. She was especially annoyed with him since he escaped again, after he got out of solitary confinement. That had been the last time she’d seen him over a year ago now.

                "They don't even let you walk around on the grounds?" He asked, completely surprised.

                She shook her head. "An enchanter I knew, Anders, he jumped into the lake and swam across it one day when we were outside for a weekly walk about." She chuckled at the memory. "The templars didn't know what to do at first, their armor meant they couldn't just follow him, and they couldn't smite him since he was too far away and likely would drown before they could get to him anyway. They also had a large group of apprentices and other enchanters cheering him on. Instead they placed us all back inside and sent for his phylactery while a patrol went out and searched the shoreline for him."

                Alistair chuckled. "You'll have to tell me more about these things that happened in the tower later. But I'm glad we can be friends and not you know the ex-templar and the ex-mage." He said chuckling. "I'll have to tell you some of the stories from my training days."

                "Ex-mage?" She blinked at the idea of being an ex-mage. Until this moment those words had always meant being a Tranquil, a fate worse than death.

                "Well... we are both just wardens now, right?" Alistair blushed but laughed nervously. "You're not going to turn me into a toad now are you?" He asked quickly in a serious tone, but she could see he was teasing her.

                Solona shook her head still feeling slightly stunned by the epiphany. The feeling of change she had been feeling had just been quantified. That was why she was feeling different since she woke, today was the day she became more than a just a Circle mage who was confided to a Tower. "You're absolutely right." She said with wonder. "I'm a warden, and I am very happy to be friends. You’re my first friend outside the Circle."

                 They looked at each other and their smiles grew. "You might not be the first friend I have had outside the Order, but I can honestly say you are quickly becoming my best one." The moment was broken as they both turned when they heard Loghain call out for Cailan.

                Alistair shyly looked away. "Anyway I am going to skip this meeting, and I really do need to see to Daveth and Ser Jory." He said sobering quickly. "They deserve to be seen to quickly, before the battle."

                She nodded. "I better hurry too." She gestured towards the meeting place.

                He smiled at her. "You look good in your new armor by the way Sole, very wardeny." He chuckled but he gave her a nod of approval.

                She laughed loudly as the happiness she was feeling was pouring out of her still. "Hitting on me Alistair? I should tell Elissa!" She winked and walked away as he sputtered a denial.

                "Ewww, your my new little sister remember." He pretended to gag.

                She laughed and wagged her finger at him. "You better be proud of that." They both began to walk away for their assigned duties, but she turned and yelled to him while walking backwards. "And Alistair my friends and family call me Sole, so keep it up." She encouraged him. He just shook his head but laughed too as he walked away to the army encampment.

                Solona got to the meeting just after Cailan since he was stopped before he got there by Loghain. She quickly ducked passed them by staying as close to the wall as possible and approached Duncan. He gave her an approving nod at her armor and her being on time. She stood beside him and listened quietly as they planned the battle. She didn't understand any of it but quickly agreed to accompany Alistair on the tower mission. She could tell by the King's tone and sudden intense look that he was trying to keep them both away from the battle. She was suddenly terrified. Duncan also seemed to be relieved she and Alistair would not be near the battlefield. She was left wondering why, he'd said he recruited her because they needed mages, so why wasn't she going to be part of the battle? The tactics didn't make any sense to her but she didn't feel it was her place to question her commander, or the King, or least of all the Hero of River Dane.

**Evening in Lothering**

                Elissa and her escort made good time, it was just getting dark when they rode into Lothering. She rented rooms for herself with the dog Flynn, and her four guards. When she asked about messengers she was told that there weren't any Warden messengers in town yet but two were expected any day now. Elissa decided to wait one day, if the messengers were not there by the day after she would head out to Redcliffe before moving on to Denerim. She thought it might be best to head to her family's allies, but she was likely to find most of them in Denerim, and Redcliffe was not far from Lothering.

                The nobles that didn't accompany their own troops would likely have headed into the capital city, or at least sent heirs with the authority to make certain decisions for their Banns. Elissa knew she could get the most support and call a Landsmeet from there but she'd be stronger if she arrived with the Arl of Redcliffe beside her. She wasn't sure what kind of support she'd get from Redcliffe if Eamon knew she was to be the next monarch of Ferelden so she decided to keep that much to herself. She hated Eamon's  wife, the woman was a snobby bitch that often left Elissa in a foul mood when their paths had crossed, but she knew with Cailan using her as his messenger to the Landsmeet she would have the Arl's support and that of his much more popular brother Teagan. Together, with their support and the support of her father's allies, they could easily crush Howe and anyone stupid enough to stand with him.

                She made no effort to hide the Grey Warden cloak that Duncan had given her, she also took his advice to heart and took out the Grey Warden Armor. He was right about the reputation of the Grey Wardens, no one would willingly attack one especially during a blight. Bandits would attack a noble with a few guards, however.

                She spent a great deal of time doing very minor repairs, polishing and oiling her ancestor's armor. Just before she headed to bed that night the armor was looking quite good. It had some age to it, and a few scars, hiding the fact that it was used was not going to be possible, but that wasn't the look she was trying to achieve anyway. When she placed the armor on she was going to look like a Grey Warden Veteran of several battles, not a noble in expensive armor that screamed 'rob me'. 

                She could hear the soldiers and the locals mixing in the taproom below. She was suddenly reminded of the night she turned sixteen. Rory Gilmore was her best friend and he'd promised her he'd get her plastered for her birthday. Her mother had almost ruined the night by insisting she play host to some noble guests with their son, who had come to help celebrate (her mother was trying to play matchmaker and it failed spectacularly). Elissa had managed to sneak off and ducked into Rory's barracks. The other soldiers were worried about her being in there for the first little while, but as Rory began to feed her the whiskey he'd gotten for their drunk fest the other guys had loosened up and they all had had a great time. She'd ended up dancing and singing on the table at one point and of course that was when her brother had found her. Since she was already three sheets to the wind, he'd gone back and told their mother she was asleep. She'd ended up past out in Rory's bunk with him. Nothing had ever happened between them, they were fully clothed and surrounded by his bunkmates as witnesses to that fact. They had never seen each other as anything but best friends. However, her father with the young noble in tow discovered them in Rory's bed the next morning, which had ended any matchmaking schemes her mother had had.

                Elissa wiped away her tears as she remembered watching Rory run towards the gates, while she had to run the other way to find and protect her family. It had been almost as hard as leaving her parents behind while her father lay dying.  Looking towards Ostagar she sighed. Again, a week later, she had been forced to leave a family member behind as she left for a safer location, leaving them to fight the battle as she fled. Right now she hated herself and her duty more than any other time in her life. She felt the embers of an anger begin to build within her, smoking and warm but not ignited... yet.

                "Please Maker, I can't lose anymore and still be strong enough to save your people."  She prayed, her face in her hands as she cried quietly. Flynn nudged her hand and whine sympathetically as he tried to comfort her. Her hands reflexively scratch behind his ears in a soothing fashion. "Please keep my family and friends safe." She wiped her face again before moving over to lay down on the bed and continued to cry quietly with Flynn resting beside her on the floor, facing the door. She finally fell asleep a few hours before dawn, just as the battle at Ostagar was lost.

  **Late Morning in Lothering**

                Elissa had been unsuccessful in finding the Grey Warden messengers the next morning. She knew the treaties she carried were important and she had almost decided to ride to Denerim instead of Redcliffe when the first riders came into town from Ostagar. The Cousland coat of arms on her shield had gotten the messengers to tell her briefly that the Grey Wardens had betrayed the King and that he along with all the Wardens were dead.

                "WHAT? That doesn't make any sense? Who springs a trap with themselves as the bait?" She screamed at the man while Flynn growled low but threateningly by her side.  "Who the Fade said that the Wardens are responsible?"

                "Regent Loghain." The man had answered stiffly with wary concern as he stared down at the mabari before he turned his horse and rode on.

                She stared after him in shock. "Regent?" She gasped. "That son of a bitch!"

                Her men looked at her alarmed. "Teyrnessa, what do we do?" The man asked. "Ostagar is overrun, and there are no more Wardens to fight the Darkspawn."

                She looked at her men and took a shuttering breath and made a snap decision. "I need each of you to make haste. Ser Markus, " she said to the man who had spoken, "I need you and your men to ride as fast as possible without killing yourselves or your horses to Jader. Once there tell the Wardens that the Ferelden Warden-Commander has fallen against the Blight, take my horse too for your supplies." She took a deep breath as she thought for a moment about what the duty of the wardens should be. She knew they needed to be told what had happened and to be warned.

                "Once you get to Jader send messages to the Wardens in Nevarra via Cumberland and the Free Marches via Kirkwall warning them that the Blight is coming and that Ferelden is unlikely to hold the Archdemon back once it's shown its head above ground. Warn the Orlais Wardens that with Loghain in charge he is not likely to let them in as he is sticking his head in the ground and refusing to believe it is a true Blight. Also warn them all about the rumors he is spreading about the Wardens. If they come they will need to be in force as an army, not small bands." She barked out the orders like she'd been Teyrnessa for years rather than a day. Her men snapped to attention and began to gather their belongings.

                "What about you, Your Grace?" Ser Markus asked once they had finished loading their gear on to the horses.

                Elissa shook her head. "I am more likely to be found and killed in the company of Highever Knights than I am on my own. If I thought he'd go I'd send Flynn with you, but he'll actually slow you down anyway." She explained to her men. She looked intently at their armor and weapons."I'd ditch those shields before you leave or at least change the heraldry on it. It looks like Howe was and is in league with Loghain, otherwise Loghain wouldn't be making a play for the throne and Howe would never have had the balls to take Highever." She snarled. The anger from the night before was smoking heavier but still not quite ready to flicker to flame.

                Her men all looked as if they wished to question her orders but the urgency of the messages that she was asking them to convey were too important to all of Ferelden to disobey her. "Your Grace should come with us." Ser Markus insisted. "Once in Jader..."

                Elissa cut him off. "Once in Jader Loghain would make sure I never stepped foot in Ferelden again. And who knows with the Empress would do if she knew about all this." She stared down the Knight. "You have your orders." She handed him a small hand full of gold coins. "Go! All of Ferelden's hopes of surviving the Blight go with you."

                Her men sadly turned and walked towards the merchant in the tavern so they could remove the heraldry on their shields. Within the hour they were gone and Elissa had changed into the Warden Armor and covered the heraldry on it with her own cloak. She told the innkeeper she was heading to Denerim to warn the Wardens of Loghain's treachery and to help them to stop the Blight, even though she was sure there was only a seneschal and his staff at the compound in Denerim. She instead headed out of town and then circled back, camping without a fire along the stream. It was a good thing she did since a little further downstream a group of bandits had made camp. She waited and watched as the bulk of Loghain's forces marched through Lothering, spreading their tales of Grey Warden treachery, and the King's death.

                She kept hoping for some news that she could use. She got some good news within hours as she listened in on the bandit camp. Loghain's men were looking for two Grey Wardens who had supposedly survived the fight. A blonde warrior and a red-headed mage. Elissa's heart hammered in her chest. "Please Maker, let that be Alistair and Sole!" She cried softly to herself and Flynn once she was she was back in her own camp.

**The Wilds**

                Solona had woken with a slow sense of awareness growing, from a far off pinpoint of light to a blurred mess of color behind her eyes until finally she could feel the deep throbbing pain of almost completely healed arrow wounds. Morrigan had been there to explain the outcome of the battle after Alistair had lit the beacon.  She had left the room to allow Solona to gather her thoughts as she got up and re-dressed into her slightly damaged Warden armor.

                The battle had been a colossal wake-up call for Solona. Alistair had led the way (once Solona had admitted to never having been in a battle before), giving orders to her and the two other members of the army they had met outside the tower. Alistair and Solona had worked well together after a few mishaps with traps on the first floor. He knew when he was too close to her to not use his templar abilities, and she instinctively seemed to know when to move away from him so he could when they spied the emissaries. He also seemed to have a good grasp of how to stay out of her line of fire when she was casting spells. The other two fighters had not been so good at that last part and she'd had to heal a few burns before they too learned not to step into her fireballs. She'd also gotten a crash course in how to fire a ballista. That had been fun.

                She vaguely recalled being hit by several crossbow bolts from close range after the beacon was burning by a Darkspawn that had come charging up the stairs. She must have fallen unconscious fairly quickly afterwards, most likely from a poison on the arrowheads. She also vaguely remember being backed up to the outer balcony and falling against the railing; that must have been when Flemeth grabbed them.

                That was what was bothering her most. According to the stories Irving had told her, Flemeth never got involved with the world unless there was something in it for her, and Irving for some reason had been fascinated by stories of the Wilds witch. The legends always said not to make deals with her or her daughters, they would never help just for the sake of helping. If Flemeth had wanted to help she would have saved someone important and not two junior wardens. The fact that she had gone out of her way to save them suggested she thought Solona and Alistair were in fact important, or she would have left him behind and only taken her. The prophecy her mother told her about seemed to be more important by the hour.

                Before Solona left the hut she had finished healing her own wounds until they had disappeared to little red bruises that would fade without leaving a single mark behind. Stepping outside, she looked for Alistair and was thankful to see him by the water's edge, apparently unharmed. She interrupted Flemeth, who had been trying to reassure him that she was fine.

                He had needed only some minor extra healing when she looked him over. He had less life-threatening wounds than she had as he was much more heavily armored in vital areas. She was never more grateful to have been a Spirit Healer than at that moment. While her teachers were better, it was only a matter of experience that stopped her from being really good at what she did. Her fire and ice spells were good but her healing was better.  She healed him until even the bruises were gone. Flemeth had raise a brow at the spells but said nothing. Perhaps she thought Solona was wasting mana, but she really didn't care.

                They had deliberated on what to do. Flemeth had suggested using the treaties, but Elissa had them. For some reason that surprised the older woman. She had looked darkly across the water before muttering a simple, "interesting development" but she refused to elaborate further and Solona wasn't about to press her. It was then suggested to them that they try to find Elissa and gather the army they would need to fight the Blight and Loghain. Morrigan was to accompany them. Cutting through the Wilds instead of the road would take them a half a day instead of a day by road once they found it. They hoped Elissa would still be safe either in Lothering or on the road to Redcliffe.

                Alistair had been exceptionally quiet. Solona could see the same amount of deep, disbelieving grief clouding his eyes, like that she had seen in Elissa's when they had been reunited at the Tower, and then later in camp. From what she had seen, Duncan was much more to Alistair than his commander, and that feeling had been reciprocated by Duncan. She also noticed the fatherly concern held in Duncan's eyes at the way Alistair's eyes followed Elissa; it had been the first hint to nature of their blossoming romantic relationship. Of course, she was only speculating on that, but it was a good bet based on their body language around one another. They certainly weren't sleeping together and that could be the only other explanation for their relationship to her limited knowledge.

                The witch Morrigan was getting on Solona's last nerve by early afternoon and she could not be happier to see the beginning of a break in the trees that lead to the road just outside Lothering. They had been traveling less than forty-eight hours together and already Morrigan had attacked Alistair verbally no less than twenty-nine times, she knew because she had been counting. The taunts were beyond cruel at times. As Morrigan opened her mouth to again berate him Solona grabbed her arm and hissed at her.

                "Obviously you do not wish to travel with us any further. You are free to return to your mother now." Solona inwardly smirked as Morrigan's mask fell just enough for Solona to see that returning to Flemeth right now was not part of their plan. For some reason Flemeth wanted Morrigan to travel with the two wardens. Making her return was sure to upset whatever it was that Morrigan was suppose to achieve.

                Morrigan swallowed, and in a voice that did not betray her nervousness she said, "I have no idea what you are talking about."

                Solona raised her brow. "You have done nothing but bitch about the fact that he is not living up to whatever unrealistic expectations you have of him." She hissed quietly. "In case you do not understand what happened at Ostagar, the man you are belittling just lost everyone he has ever considered his family. And while that obviously doesn't mean anything to a heartless bitch like you, it does matter to those who care about him. Namely me!" She gestured protectively towards Alistair. "Now if you are unable to keep your mouth shut I suggest you head back into the Wilds because you would be unwelcome to continue with us." She said sternly. "If you are going to make an effort to get along with us _both_ ," She paused to make sure Morrigan got the emphasis on the word 'both', "you will of course be welcome to stay and help us find Elissa and stay as long as you wish."

                Morrigan crossed her arms and sighed. "Very well." She muttered. "I will attempt to curb my disdain for your companion."

                Solona shook her head and glared at the witch. "Not good enough. He is my brother in every way including blood." She stared down the witch. The blood portion of her statement seemed to catch the older woman off-guard. The conviction in Solona's voice rang true to Morrigan because since the Joining Solona felt as if it was true, Alistair had become a Blood-Bound brother to her. "I want an oath that you will back off until he has overcome his grief and is willing to fight back."

                Morrigan physically took a step back, betraying her shock at Solona's request. "Only until he is willing to fight back? Why not for the remainder of my time with you?" She asked, her curiosity was stronger than her caution. Solona had been counting on that. The witch was being predictable. Being as isolated as she had been, Morrigan was not as mysterious as she liked to think; Solona could see through her. While she might not know what Morrigan's end-game was, she knew she had one. She just wasn't sure if it was going to be for their benefit or not, and until she knew she planned to keep a close eye on what it was Morrigan found interesting. Right now that meant she was a little too interested in Alistair for Solona's taste.

                Solona smiled evilly. "Because I need your help in helping him getting used to being snipped at." If Elissa was going to be Queen and if she wanted Alistair he was going to need to be able to take what the nobles dished out, and Morrigan was vicious and cruel in ways that would make most noble envious. If Alistair could take what she dished out then he could take on the nobles.

                Looking even farther long-term, she conceded that even if Elissa and Alistair didn't work out as a couple he needed a backbone of silverite if he was going to be the next Warden-Commander of Ferelden, because that meant he was going to have to deal with nobles regardless, and other Commanders. It's not like she could be Warden-Commander, she was a mage and the chant of light said ' _Magic was made to serve man, not rule over him'_. The Chantry would never allow a mage to be in a position of power. Either way Alistair was going to need to be ready to take on the nobles at their own game. He was naturally sarcastic in a funny way, that would serve him well, if he could be trained how and when to respond.

                In her letters to Solona, Elissa often used to complain about the nobles and their gossip and such. Two years ago Elissa herself had been in a scandal regarding a knight, but as the knight himself was a minor noble it had all died down rather quickly when she'd fought back against the person who had started the rumors. Her brother had been worse than Elissa could ever have been at keeping his affairs private before he'd married his wife. Elissa had found out about sex by walking in on Fergus and one of his conquests when she was eight. That letter had been an eye opener for Solona who had suddenly understood what it was the older enchanters, and apprentices were doing in secluded alcoves.

                Morrigan just blinked a few times before she smiled at Solona. "Alright I can agree to waiting. A battle of wits with even an unarmed opponent is more fun when they at least make an effort to respond."

                Solona nodded. "I'll let you know when you can begin again, but please start off soft to get him used to the idea first." She gave her a stern look. "I don't want him broken, I want him stronger and ready to defend himself." He's had enough people walk all over him, she added to herself.

                Although Solona didn't know Alistair's full background, what little she did know combined with his hesitant nature to confront others verbally told her more than enough. He had been abused in some way before the Chantry, and the Chantry itself was known for ingraining its beliefs into one's head. She herself might not believe she was cursed by the Maker, but she agreed she was cursed by his church and its teachings that mages were evil. She wasn't sure what the Chantry drummed into the templar trainees heads, but as most templars had no compassion for their charges, seeing them more as walking time-bombs. Based on observation alone, she could easily imagine that it wasn't a nurturing upbringing.

                Not ten minutes later Solona was glad she'd spoken to Morrigan about being a good team player because they were fighting against eight bandits who thought her and Alistair's Grey Warden Armor meant they were rich. Idiots!

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this was late. I have been very sick


	4. chapter 4

**5 Th of Kingsway **

**Lothering**

Several hours later Solona, Alistair and Morrigan had managed to learn about Loghain's excuse for quitting the field at Ostagar and they in turn had told everyone else in town what had really happened. They couldn't really hide the fact they were Grey Wardens, given the Warden heraldry branded on their armor, shield and cloaks. They had also helped the majority of the people in town as much as they could.

                Solona was worried about using the money Elissa had given her for everything they needed and thought it would be good to help the people and earn the money from the Chantry, as well as goodwill from the refugees. As a result of that concern they found themselves currently out killing bandits, wolves and bears along with an ex-chantry sister Leliana and a Qunari warrior with the rank of Sten. Both had joined them while they were wandering around Lothering.

                 Alistair was starting to come out of his stupor but he was unwilling to take the lead as of yet, telling her, "Sole, I trust you to make the right choices. Let's just focus on finding Elissa either here, or heading to Redcliffe when we are done getting our supplies in town. Without those treaties we can't do anything anyway."

                That was how they ended up attacking the bandits by the river. Alistair nearly dropped his sword mid-battle when out of the darkness of the trees a Warden in full plate came charging out of the trees with a black mabari war hound into the flank of the bandits. It took less than thirty seconds for the Bandits to fall. Once the bandits were dead the Warden approached them urgently.

                The Warden took off her helm and grabbed Solona tightly. "Sole! Thank the Maker you survived!" Elissa cried out. Solona just stared at her in disbelief. Elissa turned to Alistair and threw herself at him too. "Alistair!" He couldn't believe she was hugging him but he quickly recovered and then held her tightly lifting her up off the ground.

                "We found you!" Alistair cried out with joy. "I can't believe you are still here in Lothering! I was sure you'd have left by now!" He spun her around happily before he put her down with a blush. Elissa pulled them all a little ways away from the rest of the group, strangers she wasn't willing to trust yet.

                "How did you survive the battle? Where are your men? What has been going on? What happened here?" They all began talking at once, asking questions and giving answers.  

                "Do you still have the Treaties?" They answered each other in rapid succession as the other members looked on. They each relayed what had happened since they had last seen each other, and Elissa assured them she had the treaties still and all the messages that Duncan had for the seneschal.

                "I am fairly certain Howe or Loghain will have all the personnel at the Warden Compound arrested before we could warn them." Elissa said sadly. "But with my men sent ahead to Jader hopefully the Wardens outside of Ferelden will be ready if..." She trailed off.

                "If we fail." Alistair stared at the ground angrily, clenching his hands into tight fists, making the steel groan in protest.

                Solona shook her head and grabbed his wrist. "We're not going to fail. We are going to start by gathering our forces."

                Elissa nodded defiantly. "The three treaties are with the Dalish, Dwarves and Mages. Of the three the Dalish should be closest to here, but also the most out of the way of the other two." She scowled, as if the idea offended her.

                Leliana who stealthily approached the group without being heard spoke up, hoping to further ingrain herself with the wardens. "The Chantry keeps tabs on when the Dalish come and go. They all are not yet in the Brecilian Forest, but they are in Ferelden. It should be at least a month before they are expected to be fully gathered there."

                Elissa turned to look at Leliana and the others. "I'm sorry." She said suddenly a little embarrassed. "That was rude of us." Alistair and Solona too looked back at the others with chagrin.

                Leliana just laughed it off. "That's alright. You had important news to share." She stepped forward and held her arm out. "I'm Leliana." She gestured to the Qunari and Morrigan. "This is Sten and Morrigan." She said with a smile. She was watching the interactions carefully.

                Elissa smiled and took her forearm in hers. "Pleased to meet you." She smiled politely to them all as she stepped back. Leliana was surprised by the noble response to her introductions but filed it away for further investigation later.

                "I wouldn't go that far." Alistair mumbled while pointedly turning his back to Morrigan.

                "Yes, because you have so many allies you can turn your back on help that is not to your Chantry's standard." Morrigan snipped.

                Solona raised a brow at Morrigan but did not say anything. Morrigan had jumped ahead and not waited for her to wave the embargo on her comments but she had kept the comment mild and appropriate so Solona let it go. Alistair had made the first comment.

                Elissa on the other hand turned her full attention on the two. Looking at the woman three things immediately dawned on her in the three seconds she gazed at them; Morrigan was an exotic looking, half naked Korcari Wilds apostate, Alistair did not like her one little bit, and Morrigan didn't like Alistair either. She immediately felt herself wanting to protect Alistair from her.

                She gave Alistair a slight smile instead of making a move to stab the woman. "Well, I hope you're a decent mage and reasonable, otherwise we will need to part ways." Morrigan glared at her while Solona and Alistair tried not to laugh. Elissa stared gave them a dirty look as she explained, "We have enough problems right now, we can't be walking around outside the Wilds with an obvious apostate if we are going to the Circle of Magi during this quest of ours, can we?" She ended the statement with an innocent tone of voice, but the look on her face was so cold Morrigan whom was used to such looks felt a slight chill. Both Leliana and Sten were impressed with her.

                "That's what I said." Alistair exclaimed, throwing his hands up in exasperation.

                Solona chuckled as she pushed his shoulder in a playful manner. "But with a lot less tact." Alistair pushed her back nearly knocking her over. She was glad to see that Elissa's presence was helping Alistair reengage.

                Morrigan gave him a disgusted look, but nodded her acknowledgment of the situation to Elissa. "That is a reasonable argument." She looked disgruntled but chose her words carefully. "I will of course comply with making myself less conspicuous." Her face suggested she was not happy with that condition.

                "Good." Elissa said with more enthusiasm than she felt. She really didn't care if the woman stayed or not, but if she was going to be forced to spend time with the woman she was going to be wearing clothes.

                Elissa smiled at Alistair who was gaping at her. "We're actually going to bring the witch with us?" He looked over at Solona. "I thought we were going to be rid of her once we left Lothering." He whined to her.

                Solona bit her lip. Arguing with templars was something she had been conditioned not to do and despite this being Alistair, whom she was beginning to feel very close to, he still carried himself as a templar and her instincts were fighting her feelings. She took a deep breath to gather her courage to say something, but Elissa beat her to the punch.

                "We need every arm or spell we can get, Alistair."

                He turned and looked at her, resigned to fact that Morrigan was staying. "Alright. Just keep her away from me." He grumbled to Elissa. She smiled and nodded at him.

                Leliana had no idea what was going on, neither did Sten. Morrigan was unsure what Elissa's role was. The armor Elissa was wearing and the fact that both Alistair and Solona had both looked as if every word coming from Elissa was an order not to be question suggested that she was the ranking Grey Warden. Morrigan was a little more wary of her. Her mother had insisted they look for her but Flemeth had neglected to mention Elissa herself was a Grey Warden. She decided to watch her step around her. Elissa was not someone she could toy with, that much Morrigan was sure of.

                To Sten, the appearance of Elissa meant she was the leader of the Grey Wardens, despite her appearance suggesting she was in fact a woman, and to Leliana the way she carried herself and her commanding presence suggested she was a Ferelden Warden-Constable and in that moment she too shifted her view to following Elissa as leader instead of the combined leadership of Solona and Alistair. 

                "Well Constable Elissa what do you suggest we do?" Leliana asked politely.

                Solona grabbed Alistair before he could say anything and shook her head at him. Alistair took the hint and kept his mouth shut. He did _not_ want to lead. Solona was willing to defer to her and Duncan had made it very clear before Elissa left with the treaties that he trusted her with Warden secrets. Alistair nodded to Solona. "It's ok Sole. I get it." He said softly so only she heard.

                "We can talk about it later, alright?" Solona asked.  Alistair nodded and turned to pay attention to what Elissa was saying.

                "Just call me Elissa." She said waving away the rank as if it was unimportant. "We'll need to get as many healing supplies as we can. We’ll need snares and other food provisions... We'll finish up what you all were doing out here and then get out of Lothering and head towards the Tower first." Elissa said, laying out the course of action.

                "What about Redcliffe?" Alistair asked. "It's not too far out of the way? We could get Arl Eamon's support."

                Elissa shook her head with resignation. She had been thinking about that while she was waiting to see if they would come through Lothering. She shared her thoughts with them, "Loghain is sure to be watching the road to Denerim and Redcliffe looking for the three of us. He doesn't know about the treaties. It makes sense to go to the Tower first. The Mages are already being herded back there by the Chantry. They'll be the ones that also will need the most time to prepare to stand against Loghain." She reasoned. "Dwarves are always ready for Darkspawn and know army tactics as will the Arl's men, but the Mages are not used to being away from the Tower so they'll need time to learn some basic skills before we need them in an army setting." She reasoned. They group seemed impressed with her grasp of the situation.

                Alistair's mouth was hanging open. "I never thought of even half of that."

                Solona nodded, her eyes wide. "That's a really good idea Elissa. Most of us are very limited on outside experience, although some of us know more than others and some would be ready to go with minimal training." She said seriously before she smirked at Elissa. "Of course riding for three days was hard when I hadn't been outside in years, never mind even knowing how to ride." She teased.

                Elissa rolled her eyes and glared at her cousin. "You could have reminded us, Sole." She scolded good-naturedly. "Why you just healed yourself and didn't say anything to us was just stupid."

                Solona laughed along with Leliana who couldn't help but giggle at the antics of the wardens. "When did you figure it out?"

                Elissa snorted and rolled her eyes. "When Harmon asked you to heal his saddle sores too." She urged the group to walk towards town.

                Solona chuckled and continued to talk while the headed back into town. "Well, Tower Templars rarely ride." Her face shadowed with concern. "I wonder if he left Ostagar before the battle."

                Elissa shook her head, and looked resigned. "I doubt it. I'd have seen him on the road I would think." They were both quiet for a moment. "We should head back to the village. We need to leave today."

                "Should we split up and get everything done quickly?" Leliana asked. "There are only a few hours of daylight left."

                Elissa nodded as she tried to assess their needs. "Yes, that's a good idea." She turned to the group and pulled on her commanding face and tone. "Sole you look into food provisions. You'll know the quantities we'll need for us and especially for new warden recruits." Solona nodded and understood she needed to gather more supplies than their number suggested due to the food requirements for them.

                "Alistair, you get the health potions and any other healing supplies you think we could use." She ordered him, he nodded determinedly. "I'll look into the hunting supplies and any camp equipment we'll need." Everyone else was waiting for orders so Elissa turned to them. "Sten, please stay with Sole and protect her." Sten looked deeply at Solona for a moment and then nodded still not saying a word. "Leliana please go with Alistair." Alistair shot her a relieved look. "Morrigan can come with me. We'll look into finding you something that is not going to attract too much attention from Templars." She added to the apostate. Morrigan looked as if she wanted to complain but for once kept quiet and just nodded.

                They split at the bridge, Alistair and Leliana headed to the Chantry first to collect the bounties for the bears and bandits before getting the health potions and other supplies to make more later. Sten and Solona headed for the first merchant they had encountered. As Elissa turned to head towards the tavern to see about the hunting supplies she spotted a Soldier with red hair and a Highever shield strapped to his back leaning against the wall beside the bridge. He looked hurt.

                "Can you heal, Morrigan?" Elissa asked breathlessly as she turned towards the Knight.

                "Not with magic." She said curtly.

                "Get Sole then." Elissa barked and all but ran over to the knight. Morrigan walked away sighing her annoyance at being sent on a mission that was only a few meters.

                She could feel her heart beating hard in her chest, and her palms sweating inside her gauntlets. Her vision tunneled as she crossed the small distance to him, there was only one Knight she knew in the employ of Highever with hair that color. "Rory?" She called as she got close. "Is that you?"

                The knight turned quickly and a flash of pain spread across his face, his arm moved protectively around his stomach. "Lissa?" He cried with a touch of pain in his voice.

                "RORY!" She quickly came around and paced her arm around his waist to help support him. "How did you get here?" She asked frantically. "When?"

                Rory just shook his head as if trying to clear it. "Hitched a ride in a wagon with some soldiers coming down to Ostagar day after the raid. We ran into Loghain's forces just outside Lothering. The soldiers turned around but I kept walking here. I had to find you."

                She cried on his shoulder as she held him and Solona ran up. "What's wrong?" She asked.

                Elissa turned to her cousin, her anguish was raw on her face. "Rory's hurt." Solona looked at the knight and nodded sympathetically. "I'll cast some general healing now, and then when we camp I'll do an in-depth look at your injuries if needed alright?" She asked him. It was a long held habit, asking to cast healing. Some of the Templars in the Circle were a bit punchy when it came to spells being cast on them unexpectedly.

                Rory looked at Elissa. She nodded encouragingly. "She's Sole." She said as way of reassuring him.

                Rory tried to smile at her but he ended up wincing instead. "It's good to finally meet you." He grunted as she began to cast her spells. The ache was the first thing to go, but the itching of the healing going to work always reminded him of ants running every which way inside the wound, which was a disgusting feeling. It was over quickly and which the feeling had been more intense than he was used to he was glad to feel no pain in his stomach any longer.

                Sole smiled as she finished the general spell. "Nice to meet you too. I've heard much about you."

                Rory took a deep breath, the first painless one since the Gates of Highever had been breached. "Everything is Elissa fault. I'm always the innocent one being dragged into her mess. I assure you." He said with a solemn straight face.

                "You lying bastard!" Elissa choked when she tried to laugh and stop herself from sobbing in relief at the same time. Alistair and Leliana walked up to them just as she caught her breath. "You are the one who dragged me into your bunk where we got busted! And you are the one who got me plastered that night!" Alistair looked scandalized and blushed while the others seemed to be very amused at the banter.

                "I'm not the one who suggested we drink in my room, or race the horses that your father was trying to sell to the Arl," He reminded her. "Nor am I the one who decided to sing and dance on the tables in front of all the men in my barracks." He chuckled. "You're lucky it was Fergus who saw that, and all your father saw was us sleeping together." Leliana and Alistair both had their mouths hanging open at the tidbits they were throwing at each other.

                Elissa groaned. "I was still stuck mucking stables for a week because of the 'scandal' of being caught. Mother wouldn't let it go! But at least I got some of the muck inside the Arl's carriage before their trip home." She looked smug at that last bit.  Rory just laughed.

                "Well you're a warden now, just like you always wanted." Rory said softly when they stopped.

                Elissa gave him a look he knew meant to say no more. "And I've been promoted to Constable of the Order since I last saw you."

                Rory's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "I knew you'd do well but... Wow. That was... fast!"

                Alistair cleared his throat. "Actually with the death of everyone else in the Order it would make you acting Warden-Commander of Ferelden." He said uncomfortably.

                Elissa looked up startled at the additional information. She'd been so focused on Rory she'd missed their approach. "Oh everyone this is Ser Rory Gilmore. He was the recruit Duncan and I were going to get in Highever, and my best friend, but we thought he was killed in the attack." She turned back to Rory. "Rory this is our group working to retake the country from Darkspawn and Loghain." She pointed out each person, "Leliana, Sten and Morrigan are civilians who are helping us out.  Alistair and Sole are Senior Grey Wardens." Flynn barked. "Oh and of course Flynn is now considered a Grey Warden too." She said to appease her mabari. The dog looked smug and nodded his head happy with his distinction.

                After introductions Rory stood and managed to move without any real pain. Morrigan left for a few minutes and came back with the hunting supplies the group needed, and Leliana went a got a few camp items they would need and the extra supplies they had yet to buy. Less than an hour later they were heading out of town when they ran into a group of farmers who wanted the reward being offered for the Grey Wardens. Seeing three fully armored Knights, A growling mabari war hound, two battle ready Mages, a fully outfitted Qunari warrior and an archer willing to stand off against them they quickly backed off. The Darkspawn attacking the merchants just outside of the town were not so smart and ended up charred paste on the Imperial Highway.

                The merchant and his son were very grateful and asked to travel with them in return for room for their gear in their wagons and a generous discount on his goods. Elissa agreed and bought two cloaks from them to cover Alistair and Solona's Grey warden armor. The idea was to look like guards for the caravan. Loghain was looking for two Grey Wardens, not a small caravan and it guards. Elissa hoped this would help them get by any guards on the road between here and the Tower.

 

**8 th of Kingsway**

**Camp side of Lake Calanhad.**

                Solona couldn't believe it had only been three days since they had lost the battle at Ostagar. Now more than halfway between Redcliffe and the Kinloch Tower they had camped for the night. The night was clear so she could just make out the light in the darkness of where in the middle of the lake the Tower was. It would only be mid-morning when they arrived tomorrow. They could have pressed on in the dark but Elissa didn't think it would be a good idea to arrive at the Tower so late. Besides, Elissa was spending time with Morrigan making sure she knew how to walk in the phoenix armor they'd bought for Solona before the battle, and get her to stop bitching about looking like a rogue. It's not like the armor covered much more than her robes did anyway.

                Last night had been a wake-up call for the whole group. Alistair had forgotten to mention that the Darkspawn nightmares were just as bad as they had been during the joining, and the diary had just said they lessen with time until the Calling when they re-emerged with a vengeance. Instead of the Archdemon looking into her soul however, it seemed to be talking to the whole of the Darkspawn collective, of which she was one. As a mage it also added a level of intensity that Alistair didn't have to deal with. Because she could manipulate the Fade, demons were often drawn to Mages. Last night she'd seen demons standing far off watching but not approaching her, the reason seemed to be a very healthy dose of fear of the Archdemon.

                Solona's screams had lit up the whole camp, even the horses Elissa had managed to buy from a local breeder not far from Lothering had been spooked and tried to pull away from where they were tied for the night. Alistair had stayed up with Solona talking by the fire for a while as she tried to relax enough to go back to sleep.

                "I'm sorry." He had said blushing as he apologized and sat down beside her at the fire.  The others had started to head back to their tents and Rory took his turn on watch gave them their privacy by looking out towards the road and stepping out of earshot. "I should have warned you about the dreams. They are supposed to be worse for those that join during a Blight."

                Solona had shook her head and re-assured him. "Alistair, you have nothing to apologize for. You have been a Warden for only a few months and I am the first recruit you've overseen." She sighed looking deeply embarrassed by the disturbance but knew it was likely to happen again until she got used to the new reality of her dreams. "You are learning along with me and you haven't even experienced everything yet, not to mention the Fade is well, the Fade, there are no rules when it comes to mages and dreams. The diary made mention of the nightmares, just not the intensity. As you said it is worse during a Blight. The diary did _not_ mention that." She rambled off everything in her head.  Alistair placed his arm over her shoulders and let her lean into him.

                "What was in that book anyway?" He asked. "Duncan seemed agitated about it but said not to worry."

                "That's because Elissa spoke to him about what she knew and what was in the book. He was fine with the information once he knew we wouldn't share it with non-Wardens." She smiled at him. "Elissa is very good with secrets."

                Alistair blushed and looked back towards the camp. "She sure is something." He scowled as he saw Elissa and Rory talking further away and still facing the road. They seemed to be having a very intense and private conversation.

                Solona smirked to herself. "You like her."

                He stared and began to stammer. "Wh-what gave you that idea."

                She gave him a sad smile. "They are talking about what he remembers. Who might have escaped the Castle when Howe took it, and she is likely explaining my nightmare and what it means for him."

                "Oh, I should have realized." Alistair stared morosely into the campfire. "Seems to me that they're very close."

                "She's closer to Rory than she is Fergus, her actual brother." She explained with a wistful smile. "Rory's father is a Bann. He was squired and then knighted at Cousland Castle. They met when he was twelve. They were so close in age that Uncle Bryce decided to have them train together. She couldn't be a true squire since she was a Teryn's daughter so a modified training schedules worked in their favor. They are best friends, nothing more." She reassured him.

                Alistair seemed surprised. "But they slept together..." He blushed as he realized what he'd said out loud. "Forget I said that."

                She burst out laughing as she recalled the whole story. "Only literally, not figuratively."

                "Oh." He looked sheepish. "So he's a nobleman."

                "And a Grey Warden Recruit." Solona said pointedly.

                Alistair sighed. "I know. I guess we'll have to figure that out."

                She smiled and whispered so no one else could possibly overhear. "She'll make sure he knows what is really going on. Making everyone think she's the Commander works since neither you nor I know how to command." Alistair looked down and nodded sadly. "She'll be showing us how to do that so eventually you can take over." Alistair shifted even more uncomfortably. "Or I could, if you prefer." Alistair just nodded softly looking even sadder than before.  Solona wanted to cheer him up so she decided to indulge him with a little bit about Elissa. "You know she always wanted to be a Grey Warden, but Rory only wanted to be a knight. Talk about a switch, huh."

                His eyebrows rose up towards his hairline. "Really?"

                She nodded. "Rory only agreed to become a famed Grey Warden because like Elissa he believes in the Blight, otherwise he'd have been happy to stay at Highever.  She was really upset when he was allowed to become Duncan's choice, and she was to be left behind to defend the Castle. Of course her mother was trying everything she could to change Elissa's mind for months before Duncan's visit. That's why she had the diary to begin with."

                He couldn't contain his curiosity anymore and asked, "How did the Cousland's get the diary?"

                Solona bit her lip, not sure if she should tell him, but she decided to explain it anyway. "Elissa is the great-great-grand-daughter of a grey warden, give or take a grand or two."

                Alistair's eyes popped out of his head. "So her grandmother had kids before she became a Warden?" He dropped the greats just to stop himself from getting flustered.

                She gave him a confused look. "No. She had her grandfather almost five years after she became a Warden."

                Alistair's eyes almost popped out of his head. "Grey Wardens can have children?"

                Solona nodded slightly amused by Alistair's flushing cheeks."For the first little while, yes. It takes about five years before the corruption makes it impossible for woman wardens to conceive, and about ten for men to become sterile."

                "Huh." He looked off across the lake, deep in thought, trying to get himself under control so his cheek wouldn't burn any longer. "I had assumed that Grey Wardens were... you know... unable to since no one at camp had kids afterwards."

                Solona sighed and looked away. "It's frowned upon by the Warden Leadership in Weisshaupt. Rava Cousland, Elissa's ancestor had a son who stayed at Castle Cousland with her husband while she was on duty, according to the diary. She served at the warden compound; Soldier Peak in Amaranthine for six months every year. She was banished with the other Wardens that survived when the Warden Commander rebelled against the King."

                Alistair looked on in awe. "Is that's why Duncan was always so submissive to Cailan in public, we were still trying to get re-established from being exiled for treason?"

                Solona shrugged not knowing anything about Duncan and the King. "I wouldn't know about that, but in the diary Rava wrote about the Grey Warden secrets in detail and she documented the trouble she had getting and staying pregnant once she became a Warden." Solona didn't bother telling him about the fertility potions Rava took more and more frequently as she came closer to the five year mark only to give birth to her son three weeks shy of the fifth anniversary of her Joining. "She didn't write about the rebellion in it."

                "Do you think I could read it?" He asked quietly. "At this point I think you and Elissa know more about being Grey Wardens than I do."

                Solona smiled. "I'll ask, but I can't see why not."

                She had asked Elissa when she came back from talking to Rory. When she checked for the diary she had come across the letter Irving had given her that she still had not had time to read. After handing the diary to Alistair she'd moved over to the fire to read. Alistair had retired to the tent he shared with Rory to read in peace. Now alone by the lake Solona would finally have time to read the letter. She opened it carefully as the letter was old.

_Dear Solona,_

_I am very proud of you for passing your Harrowing. I have asked that this letter be passed to   you so that in the event something were to happen and you were to have any children that the proper procedures could be taken to make sure your children end up with family members and not the Chantry._

_I hope I have been able to contact you. Cousin Eleanor has made a request for your transfer to Ferelden's main circle. I wanted you there for several reasons, but the main one was to make      sure you have family nearby. Eleanor, like myself, believes that the events of the past several          years seem to be leading up to events that our family has been forewarned of. If I have not been             in contact with you then hopefully Eleanor has._  

 _There is a prophecy that was given by a famed seer,_ _Cassandra Trelawney. When your great-    grandmother gave birth to her fourth child, Cassandra came to see Aria. She told her that all of        Thedas was in the hands of our family. She said the choices the Daughters of Amell would make       would change the course of history and the face of Thedas much like Andraste herself once did.    The Spirits of Hope and Faith were very insistent that the Daughters of Amells must know what     is to come so they can make the wisest choices. This is the words of the Prophecy my daughter;_

_Daughters of Amell,_

_Upon your shoulders rests the fate of the Thedas._

_Four and four united, to become the Eight,_

_With bonds of family to strengthen the chosen._

_Each will have a Burden thrust upon them,_

_And the Maker's firsts will seek them out._

_The Queen and her King, counseled by Faith,_

_The Hero and her Rogue, guided by Valor,_

_The Champion and her Mage, challenged by Justice,_

_The Herald and her General, aided by Compassion._

_Each victory will be hard won,_

_For the final defeat of the 'The Elder Ones' all will be required to unite,_

_And stand in the Maker's Golden Light._

_One of the original lines of Amells have forgotten this prophecy, and my aunt has no intention of             informing her daughter or son of it. I have told Leandra anyway. Eleanor Cousland-Amell                 knows   the prophecy and plans to tell her daughter when she is to be married. I am worried the      prophecy will be lost until it is too late, but as a circle mage you could not have done anything           with this knowledge until now. Eleanor has promised to see what she could do about getting you           out of the Tower when you are of age. King Maric and Cousin Bryce seem to be very close and   that kind of influence can sway even the Chantry to allow you to serve outside the Circle. Eleanor       is certain that King Maric will be a helpful influence in the times to come and is already making      strides to make Ferelden stronger and more prepared for the fight to come._

_I love you my daughter. Even though we only had such a short time together. I knew with all      your older siblings being mages that you were also likely to end up in a Circle so I tried to make        the most of your time with me. I hope you remember me fondly._

_Love your Mother,_

_Ravka Amell._

                She carefully folded the letter and placed it back in its envelope. She sat for a long time staring out at the lake. She had very few memories from before the Circle and being moved the Ferelden. It was vague things like playing in a back garden, but never in the public areas. Being in the house in front of a large fireplace playing dolls with a woman. She assumed the woman was her mother but she didn't really remember her.

The letters she remembered, they'd been long and very sad. They'd stopped when she was seven. Elissa had broken the rules and told her that her mother had killed herself. She wasn't supposed to tell Solona sad news back then.

                Flemeth's words about two perhaps three being found haunted her. It was obvious even then that Flemeth thought Alistair was one of the eight, along with Elissa and herself. The prophecy itself didn't make any sense to Solona. The Hero and her Rogue would not be Elissa and Alistair, but were they to be the King and Queen? Either way she didn't understand how she could be any of the four titles, she was no Queen, Hero or Champion and she certainly was no Herald.

                She had met the Spirit of Valor though. He had been present for her Harrowing. Had Valor been there for a purpose? Guided by Valor? Had Valor guided her? She thought deeply about her Harrowing and the confrontation with Valor. The Spirit had challenged her to think harder than anything else in the Fade that night, she hadn't trusted the pride demon disguised as 'Mouse' from the second he'd shown himself, but Valor had not tried to earn her trust, but instead had made comments designed to provoke her. In a way it could be argued that she was Hero because she had been in contact with Valor already. But then that begged the question... Hero of _what_?

                Elissa came over and sat beside her while she was thinking. Elissa had been making the rounds and talking to each of the party members. She had started with Morrigan, getting her as ready as she could for tomorrow before walking around and getting a feel for strengths and weaknesses, and just general concerns of each. "What's on your mind Sole?" She asked. Her sincere concern laced her words.

                Solona handed over the letter. "Read this first."

                She watched as Elissa read the page, her eyes widening at each revelation. She read it through several times. "Maker's Breath!" She finally sighed. "I _am_ going to be Queen." She absently handed the letter back to Solona. "I knew I was going to have to be, but now it's really sinking in."

                "Counseled by Faith…" Solona agreed softly. "Flemeth thinks Alistair is possibly the King. And since I have already met Valor I think I'm Hero."

                Elissa nodded slowly, her breathing was heavy and deep as she focused on not hyperventilating. "That makes sense, although it's a little early to be assuming Alistair and I-"

                Solona snorted and elbowed Elissa in the side. "He's already half in love with you." She teased.

                "He's not the only one." Elissa blushed. "I really like him too."

                Solona smiled. "He is funny." She prodded.

                "And he's adorable, sweet, caring, and a demon of a fighter." Elissa sighed happily as she looked over towards the tent he was in. A shadow outline from the candle he was using showing his outline on the tent wall.

                "Not to mention built very nicely." Solona smirked.

                Elissa's blush spread further past her cheeks to her ears. "I noticed." She whispered.

                "You know with that Chantry upbringing, you are going to have to make the first move. I already had to reassure him Rory is just your friend." She teased.

                Elissa gasped in surprise. "What? Why would he think otherwise?"

                Solona started laughing so hard she nearly fell off the log they were sitting on. "Are you kidding me?" She managed to gasp.

                Everyone had turned to look over at the two of them and even Alistair's shadow and glanced up towards them. "No one has ever suggested that Rory and I were actually sleeping together before!" She defended herself, a little too loudly it would seem since they already had everyone's attention.

                Rory himself was laughing at her. "Not to _your_ face maybe." He told her loud enough for everyone to hear. "The Castle knights knew better, but there is a reason your mother always had me assigned to the barracks when she was matchmaking with a visiting nobleman." He teased from where he was still walking the perimeter of the camp with Flynn.

                Elissa was scandalized and her face flushed. " _Mother_ thought we were sleeping together? Oh Maker!" She groaned hiding her face in her hands.

                Rory shrugged but laughed along with the giggles from the others. "I don't think she did, but she didn't like me around when she was trying to match you up with anyone." He patted Flynn's head affectionately. "When it was someone your father didn't like he would personally bring me into the hall with the guests so she couldn't object."

                Elissa placed her burning face into her hands and groaned loudly. "Maker that was pretty much every time!" Even Alistair could be heard snickering now. Solona was happy Rory was telling these stories. Alistair needed to see that Elissa and Rory had a similar relationship to the one they themselves were building.

                "Except just before Nathaniel Howe went to the Free Marches." Rory said softer.

                Elissa's face instantly hardened. "I wonder if he knew..."

                "I seriously doubt it." Rory interrupted her, shaking his head sadly. "Remember how Arl Howe was always pushing you towards Thomas. I always thought he sent Nathaniel away because he had a backbone, unlike Thomas who did whatever Howe asked."

                She shivered. "Even that night… he was trying to get father to set an arrangement with Thomas."

                Rory shook his head to clear his thoughts. "Your dad called you Pup for a reason." He teased trying to lighten the mood again. "He always said when you found the right one you'd imprint like a mabari."

                "Is that your way of saying she's too much of a bitch for you?" Solona laughed, trying to help change the subject.

                "SOLE!" Elissa shouted, while everyone else began to chuckle or outright laugh, even her own dog Flynn was snorting over by their tent.

                Rory was laughing so hard he was almost doubled over. "Maker, YES!" He gasped out emphatically.

                Elissa grumbled about killing him slowly and painfully. Rory and Leliana came over and sat with them. "So what more can you tell us about our illustrious leader?" She asked Rory coyly.

                "What would you like to know?" Rory flirted back. "I'm an open book for the right motivation."

                Elissa gagged. "I think I'm going to be sick."

                Rory snorted. "Shh." He said before turning back to Leliana. "You were saying my dear?" He said huskily.

                Leliana giggled delightfully. "What of her actual affairs, since she wasn't with you." she teased while nudging Elissa who again seemed to have turned blood red with her blushing.

                "Rory," Elissa growled. "Don't you dare!"

                Rory chuckled, but looked at Elissa for a moment, checking to see how embarrassed she already was. He decided he had a little more room to mortify his friend. "Not a single one. Our illustrious leader is a virgin!" He proclaimed loudly.

                Solona and Leliana both seemed to be very surprised by that revelation. "Really?" Solona asked her. "Even I've dallied with a couple of others in the Tower." She had always been careful to never be seen when she had and never with someone she’d to spend a great deal of time with. Alistair's shadow was now sitting up paying attention to every word being said.

                "Never once?" Leliana questioned she asked somewhat surprised. Having been raised in Orlais it was common for affairs to be had married or not.

                Elissa shook her head and explained, her tone taking a serious air. "I had to be more careful than most nobles. My mother would have insisted," She sighed and slumped down a little. "Even a possible unexpected pregnancy would have had me married before I was even certain."

                Rory snorted. "And nothing was going to stop her from becoming a Grey Warden." He nudged her with his elbow. "Our leader has been planning for this from the first time she picked up a sword."

                Elissa laughed. "Longer than that, try from the first time we learned about them."

                Rory nodded. "She spent extra time on small group tactics, and large scale defense and offense designed around working in tunnels." He explained.

                "Preparing for the Deep Roads." She clarified when Leliana shot her a questioning look.

                "Why would you be preparing for the Deep Roads?" Leliana asked bewildered as to why anyone would want to go there.

                Solona answered. "Because without the Blight that's where the Darkspawn are."

 


	5. Chapter 5

 

 

**9th of Kingsway**

**Docks of Kinloch Hold**

                 When they arrived at the docks, Morrigan was still acting out of sorts. Elissa had suggested she wait with the Merchants and horses on the shore while the rest of them went to the Tower and Morrigan gladly took the pass and stayed behind. Elissa sighed at the wasted time she had spent trying to cover-up the fact that the witch was an apostate. The only consolation she had was that the witch would have to stay dressed in the armor since there were numerous Templars around in the tiny town surrounding the docks.

             Alistair, Rory and Leliana were very curious about the Tower. Alistair hadn't expected to see the inside of one since his conscription and Leliana never had, nor expected to have a chance to. Everyone heard stories, but Solona debunked most of the wilder ones as myth or just plain crazy, Templar and Mage relationships of forbidden love being the major one.

              Elissa had a hard time not laughing when Solona had explained just how rare it was for a Templar to be alone with a mage, especially of the opposite sex. Leliana  having perked up when learning that mages did regularly have sex with one another, but was again disappointed when Solona was clear, no mage would dare fall in love. Some templars were cruel when they had something they could hold over them. Rory pointedly kept his opinion to himself.

                "So you've never been in love?" Leliana asked her.

                Solona shook her head. "No, and I don't ever expect to be. Beside who would ever truly love a mage?" She asked matter-of-factually. Her question startled Leliana and the bard had been quiet about the subject ever since.

               Sten had not taken part in any of the conversation, just observed, but at the final question he had given Solona an approving nod as if to say she had the right attitude.  Knowing how the Qun treated their mages, the approval had given Solona a chill but she had just nodded back and walked away.

 

               Rory's reaction to the subject had been outwardly curious but this did not reflect how curious he really was. Inwardly, he had been very curious, wanted to see everything for himself. Elissa ranted to him in the past about the treatment of mages and allowed him to read many of the letters Solona had written. He was hard pressed not to be sympathetic to mages after reading about some of what they were forced to endure. He could understand the hands off approach of some of the templars had, like this Cullen boy Solona had recently began to write about, but the actions of some were beyond just cruel; in his opinion they were criminal.

                Elissa's rants had been legendary after receiving letters from Solona or her visits to the Tower among the knights, so much so the last time she had come back from a visit in one such temper the other knights wouldn't spar with her. He'd taken quite a few blows he'd felt for a week after that fight. He had a feeling now that Solona wasn't under the Knight Commander's authority, he'd be getting an earful about what really happened in the Tower when Solona got around to filling in some details she’s glossed over in her letters.

Elissa got her first chance to vent some pent up anger at the first templar they had come across. Carroll was one such Templar Elissa had met before. His obnoxious attitude hadn't changed she didn't hold back. Her temper that had been ready to ignite for the past several days and finally sparked when the idiot templar spoke to them.

                "The Tower is off-limits to everyone." Carroll asserted pompously.

"We're here on Grey Warden business so you are going to take us over there, or I am going to drop you into the lake and we'll see how well you can swim in armor?" Elissa growled and grabbed him by the armor and forcefully backed him up until she had him leaning backward over the edge of the dock, the tip of his boots barely on the surface.

                Rory had expected her aggressive behavior and made sure he was standing beside her for this confrontation and he reacted quickly. Grabbing her wrist, he pulled them both away from the edge of the dock so Carroll could get at least one foot under him. "She's not kidding by the way." He said in his laid back tone. Carroll whimpered.

"What do you think you are doing?" She snarled at him. 

Alistair and Solona exchanged shocked looks, but both were at a loss on what to do.

Rory shook his head at her as the smell of urine began to waft from Carroll's armor. "I believe I was making sure Alistair and I would not be the ones rowing to the damn Tower." He said smiling at her. "Because this smart boy here is going to do anything we ask him to." He turned to Carroll with an innocent smile. "Isn't that right, smart boy?"

Carroll couldn't agree any faster, even as he suggested that Flynn and Sten wouldn't fit in the boat. As an answer to his concerns, Solona just perched herself in Rory's lap. Leliana giggled and appeared to be heading for Alistair before she was met by Elissa's stone-faced glare; Leliana sat next to Sten instead. Rory had been surprised, chuckling at Solona's antics and resting a hand on her hip, holding her in place. Surprisingly, Sten allowed Flynn to sit with his front paws in his lap, it was a tight fit but they all were in the boat. Carroll reluctantly began to row.

Solona looked up at the Tower that had been her home for most of her life. She's only seen it from this angle twice before, when she first arrived and when she left a week ago. Both times the Tower had looked dark and menacing, and if she were honest, she would admit that it still did. Her stomach fluttered with nerves at the idea of stepping back inside when she was sure Greagoir would still be angry with her for what happened with Jowan, especially if he was still free. 

Given they didn't have his phylactery, it was a possibility. She still felt a great deal of hurt and anger towards Jowan, but also relief he’d escaped. He had been her friend for over six years. He never seemed the type to be able to lie so effectively, but he had helped them out of several scraps by doing just that; lying to the senior enchanters, so it shouldn’t have been such a surprise to her.

                Then there was Cullen, whom she had kissed, imagining she would never see him again. Now, less than a week later, she was back. She wasn't sure how she felt about that. Her feelings were still there, her crush. She couldn't call it love, she had no idea what that even felt like, because that, like any other attachment, was forbidden. Even friendships that became too close could be used as a weapon against her, as a means to control. She was so glad to be rid of those restrictions, but she had lived with them so long she wasn't sure how to shed them.

                Rory watched her during the twenty minutes it had taken to cross to the Tower, given their proximity it was hard not to. Everyone had seen the emotions cross her face, in respect they had been quiet throughout the trip.

                Like most of the others in the party Rory thought the Tower gave an imposing display of power and despair. Even though the Tower had been built long before the Circles were formed, and it began its use as a Circle, the Tower had an emotional presence of misery. Anyone who saw it for the first time instantly knew what it was, a prison. Anyone saying otherwise was either lying to themselves or was willfully blind, he thought. Rory shook off the sense of dread, lest he decide to turn back. Giving Solona's hip a light pinch to break her out of her deep thoughts as they got closer to the dock, she had jumped but once she noticed their journey to the Island was done she nodding wordlessly and rose to disembark.

Carroll had been wary of entering the Tower when they arrived. He'd kept trying to stay with the boat and out of the Tower entirely. Elissa, having had enough of his attitude on the dock and his incessant mutterings while on the boat, shoved him through the doorway, almost sending the poor boy sprawling onto the floor.  Their entrance caught the attention of all of the knights lined up in battle formations facing the barred doors leading into the Tower from the front entrance way.

                "What is the meaning of this?" The voice of the Knight Commander boomed out. "Carroll! No one was supposed to be brought across the lake!" He yelled at the boy.

                "They said they were Grey Wardens on business! It's a Blight. We can't say no to them, right?" He stammered trying to justify disobeying orders, as if the scent of urine on him wasn't enough to prove the party had literally scared the piss out of him.

Greagoir shook his head with disgust at Carroll before turning to the party. He raised a brow at Elissa standing there in her Warden-Constable's armor and taking in the Warden-Mage armor on Solona and even Alistair's Warden Heavy Plate. "Well, look who is back, and a proper grey warden now, are we?" He asked, his irritation evident but not directed at Solona so Elissa let it go. She had never been impressed by the Knight-Commander. He had a tendency to be blind to the actions of his men unless they were witnessed by too many to ignore or one of his own Templars willing to inform on another.

                "Why are the doors barred? Are they trying to keep people out or in?" Alistair muttered to Elissa quietly but not loud enough to be overheard by the templars in their helms.

                Elissa jumped on his suggestion since it was something that could fuel her feelings of aggression towards the Templars. "Yes, why are the doors barred? We need to speak with you and the First Enchanter." Elissa asserted in her best commanding voice.

                "I'll be honest." Greagoir said plainly and with heavy fatigue in his voice. "The Tower is no longer under our control." Solona shook her head in instant fear as Greagoir continued, "Abominations and demons stalk the halls. We were too complacent." His eyes glared at Solona for a moment. "First Jowan, and now this! Don't think I've forgotten your role in Jowan's escape."

                "I wouldn't have helped him if I thought for one second he was a blood mage!" She shouted at him."I honestly thought I was helping him prove he wasn't! I thought he was just sneaking around with Lily. I was doing what I thought I had to so you wouldn't make him Tranquil! No one should ever be made Tranquil against their will! It's cruel and inhuman!" She shivered and backed up a step before she shook her head and stared Greagoir down. "Besides I was only doing as I was told." She said much softer.

                Greagoir looked surprised at her verbal attack but his face hardened. "I am aware. Irving continued to defend you after you left." He looked away with his hardened expression. "I suppose I can't blame you for that. Irving, however, could have done more to stop all this. He knew I had proof and should have said something to you rather than allow you to go through with that ridiculous display. But all that doesn't matter now." exhaustion retook precedence in his features.

                Elissa's temper was bubbling too close to the surface, so Rory gently grabbed her arm and motioned for her to step back. Following Elissa’s cues, Alistair stepped forward to ask the questions that needed answering; talking to templars was at least something he was used to. "What has happened?" Alistair asked warily. He knew there was only two reason they could be doing what they seemed to be about to do, and he doubted they were doing a training drill.

                "Three days ago the mages arrived back at the tower from Ostagar." Greagoir explained. "And yesterday evening Uldred called for a meeting of the senior enchanters. I had assumed it was to fill them in on what had happened at Ostagar. We'd heard rumors about the Wardens of course, but no one here believed the wardens betrayed the King and aided the Darkspawn!" He assured them.

                "Well at least that's good to know." Alistair deadpanned.

                "After that I don't know. The Tower was suddenly crawling with demons and abominations." He sighed and wiped his forehead with his hand as if to wipe away the memories. "There were too many of them, hunting down both mages and Templars alike. I gave the order to retreat."

                The party was stunned. "But if you are holding them here and not rescuing any of them..." Solona's voice trailed off.

                Greagoir gave her a haunted look. "I sent word to Denerim asking for the Rite of Annulment."

                "NO!" Solona screamed. Alistair grabbed her around the waist to stop her from attacking Greagoir with her bare and suddenly sparking hands. "What about the children? The others?" Looking around quickly, she took a quick stock of the few faces she recognized, her face paling still further at the scant number of familiar men in armor and the lack altogether of any in robes. "What about Cullen?"

                Alistair looked like he was going to be sick, the rest of the party looked at each other in confusion. Having guessed what the Rite entailed, Elissa looked ready to explode while Alistair explained to the rest of the party what was about to happen.

"They are waiting for reinforcements from Denerim to come with permission from the Grand Cleric to purge the Tower."

Leliana gasped in shock. Sten was calm as always. Flynn was growling at Greagoir and suddenly standing between Solona and him, protecting her from the Templars in the room. Rory shook his head with disgust.

"We're going to do something about it Sole." Alistair whispered to her, trying to get her to relax even marginally. Solona just shook her head, turned and leaned into Alistair's embrace.

Taking out Cullen’s pendent, she held it tightly the rounded edges of the metal digging firmly into her skin while looking hopefully towards Elissa for guidance. Rory was still holding her back from Greagoir.

                "There is nothing else to be done. Everything in the Tower must be destroyed. Anything in there now is likely corrupted." Greagoir said emphatically but unable to look them in the eyes as he said it.

                "Mages are not defenseless lambs for slaughter!" Elissa snarled trying to pull away from Rory but he held her back by her sword arm, stopping her from drawing it in her anger. "They're likely some of them alive." She spat out.

                "If there are any then the Maker himself must be shielding them." Greagoir said softly. "It is too painful to hope for survivors and to find..." His voice trailed off. His anguish finally bleeding through, his decision to call for the annulment was a very painful one, and it seemed to cost him personally.

                "Then we must not waste the Maker's efforts." Elissa insisted, her nostrils flared as she growled.

                "We'll go in." Rory said much more diplomatically then Elissa was capable of at the moment.

                "Abominations are not something easily defeated and you will encounter them in seemingly endless numbers! Not to mention as many demons as they could have summoned in the last two days." Greagoir sighed, shaking his head in defeat.

                Elissa snorted and did not bother hiding her disgust. "We can handle it." She looked back at Solona who was clinging to Alistair, and pleading with her eyes for Elissa to do something.

                Greagoir looked impressed, distraught and frustrated. "The arrogance of youth," He sighed. "If you do this I will be grateful. I will pledge my templars to your cause, I know the Blight is upon us." He said sadly, not really believing they would find anything or anyone to save.

                "Thank you." Solona whispered. She dropped her hand and Greagoir noticed the pendent. His eyes widened marginally, but seeing it gave him a slight bit of hope for his men still inside. In the crisis he had forgotten the depression Cullen had been in since she left. The pendent around her neck was all the confirmation he needed that Solona at least would do everything she could to help, and the rest would follow.

                "I will not unbar the doors for anyone until you return with Irving." Greagoir told them.

                Elissa raised a brow. "And if he's already dead?"

                He shook his head. "I'll wait for the Rite of Annulment or Irving." Elissa finally agreed and the group walked through the doors. "May the Maker watch over you." Greagoir said to them before he ordered the door re-barred.

 

**First Floor**

                The sound was almost like a death knell to Solona.

Being locked in the Tower while awaiting a Rite of Annulment was on the top of her list of things that scared her to death. The only thing that came close was being made tranquil. She couldn't call it a phobia, since the fear was a very real possibility Mages had to live with, but if she let it, the terror those two things inspired could be just as paralyzing as any phobia.

Even worse was knowing every minute that passed by meant there was a greater chance she was to get a front row seat to watching the templars kill almost everyone she ever met or cared for, Mage or templar alike before they killed her too, Grey Warden or not.

                "We need to move quickly.” Solona said, urgency like she had never felt before making her jerk forward towards the door leading to the first apprentices dormitory.  She refused to look at the dead bodies on the floor. "This is the female dorm." She announced as they entered the first room.

                The others followed her and stared in horror at the room. In it were bunk beds for about thirty people. The room was in complete shambles. Some of the beds were overturned and room was dark except for a few candelabras that were glowing, throwing shadows over large sections of the room. There was a dead body here sprawled across the entrance inside the room. The mage looked young, possibly early teens. Solona refused to look at her and seemed to glide away from the blood over towards one of the bed, away from the group.

                "The female dorms?" Leliana gasped, her eyes widened in disgust. "It's just a large room with beds and trunks. There's no privacy!"

                "Mages aren't allowed any." Alistair explained quietly. He shrugged and laughed his comment off. "This is still way better than I had as a child. I had to sleep with the dogs in the kennel if I needed warmth at night." Leliana did a double take at Alistair but then rushed forward to help the others search the room quickly for survivors and any documents that might help explain what had happened, not that anyone really expected there to be anything down here.

                "Age doesn't matter either." Elissa explained. "All apprentices are housed here, youngest to oldest, separated only by sex." She sneered as she walked past yet another body lying on the floor. Her face turned to one of pain and grief as she kneeled down to look at the young girl. She knew any bodies they found down here would be young, but seeing a girl of about twelve was still a shock. She'd been clawed open from pelvis to shoulder. Nearby was a twisted shape that had to have been the creature that attacked her. The face and body were charred and it was hard to tell if it had once been male or female without removing its robes.

                Solona had ignored it all and had not stopped to look at anything until she was at her old bed. She reached under the bed to stare at a carving of her name in the bed frame above. This had been her bed for five years. One of the destroyed smaller beds in the furthest corner had been her bed when she was a child. She looked over to those beds, nine years she'd been in that one. This room had been her home for fourteen years, more than two thirds of her life.

                "Sole?" Elissa came over to her.

                "This was mine, before the Harrowing." She explained. Elissa squeezed her shoulder and continued looking, she had known that. Solona brought her in here during one of her visits and introduced her to her friends. Solona pulled herself together and stood up to join the search. She stopped at each of the templars and took their helmets off and placed them beside their heads. With each helmet she removed she seemed to withdraw further into herself. Each mage she placed on their backs and crossed their arms over their chests in a display of respect. The abominations she ignored.

                Alistair shook his head at the carnage around the room. This was a templar’s worst nightmare. He knew such things were possible, but he never really thought it would happen, or that he would see it firsthand.  Internally he began a count; three templars, four mages, one abomination.

                They didn't find anyone alive, and they moved on the next room. "The male apprentice quarters." Solona said in a quiet monotone. This room was no different than the other one had been, same gloomy shadows and disarray of papers and damage about the room.  Finding no one alive there either they stepped towards the door baring the way into the anti-room.

                "This leads to the dungeon steps and the entrance to the apprentice library, which leads to the rest of the Tower." Solona again told them before opening the door. Inside the room was over a dozen mages and at least fifteen children between the ages of five and twelve. The children were being kept quiet in the corner by the door as they entered. The older apprentices and enchanters were standing between them and Senior Enchanter Wynne. Wynne was focused on the upkeep of a barrier over the door leading to the library, the likes of which Solona had never seen before.

                She spotted an enchanter she knew well and ran to him "Alim!" She called.

                The elf mage turned quickly and readied a fireball but it flared out when he saw who had called him. "Sole?" He met her halfway and dragged her into a quick hug, kissing her hard. "Thank the Maker your alive! We were told you were dead!" he said when he pulled back. Leliana was looking happily at the two, but Elissa rolled her eyes.  She had seen apprentices do that all the time during her visits, however, it didn't mean what Leliana was hoping it did.

                "Alim. I'm fine." She assured him, pressing her forehead to his before he put her down.

                "What are you doing here?" He asked. As he asked all the older apprentices began to gather around them to hear what she had to say. Their appearance seemed to be giving the others in the room hope.

                "At first we came to get help for the Blight, but we need to clear the Tower before the approval for the Rite of Annulment arrives." Sole explained quickly and quietly so as to not alarm the children.

                "We'd have to drop the protection barrier that Wynne erected." Alim told her anxiously, his hands wringing with stress. "I don't know that any of us could replace it or keep it up." He admitted.

                "The way behind us is clear." Solona explained desperately. "And we have to try! Otherwise it's not going to stop the Templars from killing you all when the Rite gets here."

                Alim resignedly nodded. "What's your plan?" He asked her urgently, his words almost blurring together.

                Elissa stepped forward, her face hardened with her temper. "We are going to do a room by room sweep. Checking for survivors and clearing out the abominations and demons." The rest of the group didn't even hesitate before they were double checking their gear and making sure health and lyrium potions were distributed properly among them.

                Alim nodded to her, conveying his thanks. "Wynne is the only senior enchanter not at the meeting that we know of, so she is the ranking Mage here." He told them. He finally let Solona go, he'd been holding on to her like a lifeline.

Petra, one of the other junior enchanters, spoke up. "She was hurt badly earlier, too." She explained, worry creasing her face. "If you could see to her Sole before you leave--" Her voice trailed off, pleading.

                Solona nodded and her expression softened as she spoke to her. "Of course." she assured her.

Petra was always one to look out for the younger children, and Solona had spent a great deal of time with her over the years, not as friends but more as an older example to work towards. It was awkward to feel Petra looking up to her, when at one time she was the one looking up. 

                "Constable, everyone is ready." Alistair said to Elissa after he had checked in with everyone. He somehow kept a smile off his face. Even if she wasn't a Warden he was seeing her leadership as something to believe in. Even in her current mood she was still commanding and breath-taking to him. It was only the situation around them that kept him from being able to focus on how much he admired it about her.

                "Let's do this then." She ordered and the group approached Wynne who had not been able to leave the barrier to see them thus far.

                The older woman reminded Elissa of the old grandmother in the village around Highever who tried to help out, and be useful by watching over the children or teach them through telling stories. Unlike that grandmother, the barrier she'd erected proved she was also a powerful Mage however. The fact she was also a healer sealed Elissa's opinion on whether bringing her along was worth it or not. They were doing something the templars thought impossible, and they dealt with these types of things every day. An extra healer was just common sense to her. She let Wynne be `convincing’, allowing her to come along when she asked to join them.

                Solona quickly healed the older woman before Wynne dropped the barrier with a warning about not knowing what was beyond it. The group then headed into the library passing yet another abomination in the connecting hallway.

Eight mages, four templars and two abominations, Alistair counted in his head. His heart felt heavier with each body. Once again Solona had taken the helmets off the templars, crossed the arms of the mages, but had avoided looking at the abomination. Wynne, on the other hand, had gone to each and murmured names and words of mourning to each. It was obvious even to him that Solona was avoiding naming the mages or looking too closely at them, however, he didn't yet understand why she was fixated on the templars.

                Immediately after entering the library they were set upon by three abominations from all sides. Elissa, Sten, Flynn, Rory and Alistair charged forward. Solona began firing winter's breath spells while Wynne fired off arcane bolts. The close quarter fighting made it difficult for Leliana to use her bow but she pulled her daggers and guarded the Mages from attacks on their flank. The fight itself was over in less than ten seconds.

                "Everybody back out of the room, NOW!" Alistair yelled as he pushed Leliana and mages back. The whole group got back into the hallway just as the abominations exploded in flames, leaving their bodies slightly charred like the first one in the apprentice dorms.

                "How did you know they'd do that?" Elissa gasped as she adjusted her shield.

                Alistair looked down at his feet. "Abomination knowledge is part of the training." He admitted quietly.

                Wynne nodded and smiled softly. "A templar trained warden. I had heard about you at Ostagar."

                Alistair blushed. "Yeah my background wasn't a secret or anything."

Elissa nearly choked on her laughter as the irony of that statement hit her. Solona wasn't much better. "I guess you couldn't be, what with you being the Reverend Mother's favorite Warden." Elissa teased him. Alistair blushed even deeper when what he said hit him. He was thankful for the cover Elissa provided.

                Leliana finished looting the bodies and they turned to re-enter the library. "Look at this mess!" Leliana breathed, in awe of the disaster.

Noises from the far side of the room caught their attention. Elissa began using hand signals, they were very simple instructions and everyone could easily ascertain what she was saying. Pointing to each of the fighters she indicated to follow her quietly, and that Leliana and the mages follow behind them. As they reached the third section of the library shelves, Alistair checked the corner and ducked back. Holding up four fingers he pointed toward the abominations and he held up one finger and whispered "Rage." Elissa nodded, and made the signal to attack.

                The battle again was over quickly and without injury as they ran back to the first area after the enemy bodies hit the floor to avoid the flames from the explosion of the abominations bodies. They quickly looked over their injuries, a few slight burns, and they a quick look around for anything useful.

                In the next room there was another Rage demon and a small group of three abominations. The group once made short work of the small outnumbered group of monsters, but they got caught in the backlash of the explosions this time. With a general healing spell, every burn and scratch had been healed. Solona even added some cooling spells to the heavy armor of the fighters so they wouldn't get burned again from the heated metal.

                The door to the next floor was locked and Solona groaned. "Someone setup the Apprentice Gauntlet." She huffed in disbelief. Wynne sighed with annoyance.

                "What's an apprentice gauntlet?" Asked Leliana.

                "It's a test of summoning, using several levels of creatures. Once the three levels are defeated the door unlocks." Wynne explained.

                "Just wait for me at the final door." Solona grumbled as she and Wynne scouted the library to find the books and things that she would need to perform the summonings. Solona took a deep breath and took the time to check the templars in the library at see if any of them were Cullen. She was relieved she did not see him and prayed he was still alive and safe.

Everyone watched as she ran back and forth around the library touching this, carving that, reading this and touching the little whirlpools. Out of each whirlpool three different creatures came out. A nug looking bunny that fell over dead, a man who disappeared in a puff of smoke, and then the final thing was an ugly, bear-like creature that Wynne muttered was a fade rifter. The group helped kill it before moving towards the final door to the apprentice study.

 

**Second Floor**

                Up the stairs they came to the entrance adjacent to the tranquil Owain's store room. Solona had to shake her head at the lack of self-preservation the tranquil had. She was tempted to just kill the man and free him from his earth-bound prison. It certainly didn't surprise her no one had helped the tranquil escape or even cared enough to look for any of them, most of the mages in the Tower avoided them as much as possible. Each time she saw one she felt as if someone was showing her future if she dared to object to the harsh treatment at the hands of some of the cruelest templars.

                Wynne seemed to be able to talk to Owain as if she cared, and Solona was glad to let her do it. Wynne was unable to convince the ritually lobotomized mage to head down to the 'safe room'. The reactions of the others showed they too were as unsettled by the tranquil as she was.

                "I never realized they could be so creepy." Alistair said with a shudder. "The Chantry always made it sound as if they were content with their lives afterwards."

                Solona snorted without mirth. "They don't have the option of being anything else."

                "Not even self-preservation?" Leliana said, sounding shell-shocked. "How can he want to stay in there?"

                For the first time Sten spoke up. "Even the Qun are not so cruel as to remove a person's sense of self."

                The whole party stopped and looked at Sten. It seemed Ironic that an unnamed being such as a Qunari would say such a thing. "No your people just collar and sew the mouths of your mages shut. There is not much difference in my opinion." Sten did not say anything else but just nodded his head. "At least tranquil wouldn't care about being collared and quiet." She muttered as she walked away.

                "Niall must have the Litany." Wynne was saying, trying to change the subject. "That will help us against Uldred."

                "How?" Elissa asked. Like most of the party, she knew very little about magic other than what some spells were capable of.

                "The Litany is a short-term protection barrier over the mind to protect against blood magic or any other form of mind manipulation." Solona explained using layman terms. It was a very simplified answer that wouldn't truly explain what the Litany was but it would suffice.

                "Why would a Litany be here in the Tower store room?" Alistair asked, completely perplexed. "Isn't that something the First Enchanter and Knight Commander would keep track of?"

"Normally, yes." Wynne answered. "But with the escape of Jowan, a blood mage no one knew of,"  her eyes rested on Solona disapprovingly for a moment before continuing, "Irving made it available to everyone to memorize if they so choose." Solona glared at the older enchanter but refused to rise to the bait. Wynne had always been this way, Solona was used to ignoring her holier-than-thou attitude.

                "Hopefully he's not dead." Elissa said softly as she looked around the room once more.

                In the next room they ran into their first group of blood mages. A group of three mages were in one of the advanced studies libraries. The fight once again was quick. Four warriors, a rogue, a mabari and two mages were a large group, but most scout parties were about the same size, just not a diverse a group. Alistair's templar abilities also seemed to be catching them off guard, most likely because he wasn't in templar armor. The groups of mages and demons in the Tower must have thought the main assault by the templars was over or not coming for some time, otherwise the small groups would not be so easy to overtake.

                One of the blood mages was still alive when the fighting was over. Alistair had cleansed the room of mana once more before Solona and Wynne got too close, not that it could have stopped the woman from using her own blood to fuel her magic, although it did limit the mage's ability to cast.

                She begged for her life. She explained that the death and destruction was not their intent they just wanted their freedom from the Chantry and Templars, and that they had the support of Loghain if they freed themselves. She begged to be allowed to leave and seek penance. Alistair pointed out that the Chantry wouldn't allow a Maleficarum. Solona agreed. Leliana said Alistair was being ignorant and he did not back down pointing out the Chantry would shove a sword through her heart as an act of 'mercy'.

                Elissa stepped forward. "Fight the Darkspawn." She ordered the woman. Her stare made the woman back-up a step.

                "But I'm a..." She began.

                Elissa smirked without mirth. "You are a mage with spells that can kill faster than most."

                Wynne spoke up. "This is unwise. You cannot trust her."

                "No you can't." Solona said with disgust. "Maleficarum are only ever out for themselves and the demons they consort with." She snarled at the girl.

                She took another step back. "I made no deals with a demon." She declared. "I have only used my own blood, never the blood of another."

                Solona snarled again. "That's how they all start."

                "ENOUGH!" Elissa yelled she turned and held Solona's glare with her own until Solona backed down. "We need all the help we can get Sole, even hers." Solona gaped at Elissa is disbelief.  "Any means necessary." She said forcefully.

                Both Alistair and Solona flinched at the saying but both backed down without further comment. Wynne looked at Elissa with disapproval but she too backed down and calmly stated. "I suppose it is not my place to question your motives." Her voice betrayed her disapproval.

                Elissa waved her off. "Question away. I do not mind being second guessed, however I would prefer it to be in private."

                "As you wish." Wynne said with some surprise. She hadn't expected the woman to allow it at all.

                "Your name, girl?" Elissa asked turning back to the girl on the floor.

                "Cara." She told them. "What do I do now? Pledge my life to your cause?"

                Elissa nodded. "Or I could conscript you, your choice. Either way I want you to go down and help protect the apprentices beyond the first floor library, and do not tell them _what_ you are." She ordered.

                The girl Cara nodded. "Thank you for my life."

                Solona waited until the woman had gone before she turned to Elissa. "Can we talk a minute Captain?" She asked sarcastically. Elissa sighed but nodded and signaled Alistair to join them. She figured she'd get both of their complaints out of the way at the same time. They walked back to the stairs while the others searched the room and bodies for clues and supplies.

                "What are you thinking?" Solona hissed at her with real venom in her voice. "Do you have any idea what a blood mage is capable of?"

                Before Elissa could say anything Alistair jumped in. "I know that whole 'any means necessary' is a real Grey Warden tactic but can't we wait until we are desperate before we use it?"

                Elissa looked back and forth between the two of them. "We are there Alistair!" She snapped at them. "You two are the only Grey Wardens left in Ferelden!" Solona still glared at her so Elissa turned her full attention on her. "Are you objecting because of the blood mage status of a desperate girl or because your boyfriend is still missing?"

                Solona's face fell slightly, before she shook her head venomously. "This has nothing to do with Cullen!"

                "Who's Cullen?" Alistair asked bewildered, he'd heard the name mention downstairs but didn't understand. "Boyfriend?"

                "He's a templar." Elissa snapped at him before she turned her attention back to Solona. "She is going to be with us, killing Darkspawn. I'm not planning on letting her run free." She told her without paying attention to Alistair's completely gob smacked expression.

                Alistair stared at her. "You had an affair with a templar?" He gasped at Solona.

                "No, I only kissed him once." Solona snapped at him before she continued to argue with Elissa. "And she could kill us in our sleep, did you think about that?"

                "Then why..." He stammered.

                "Alistair shut up!" Solona yelled at him.

                Elissa just threw up her hands. "She and Cullen had crushes on each other and shared a kiss goodbye when she was conscripted. He gave her the amulet she wears to remember him by. End of story." She explained to Alistair.

She then put her finger in Solona's face. "I plan to put her through the joining as soon as we run across some Darkspawn and get some fresh blood. Let the joining decide if she's worthy or not to kill the bastards. We need all the help we can get. Now suck it up and get over it. Making these types of choices whether you like the choices you have to make, or not, is part of being in command."

                Alistair took a step back, knowing at this point he wanted nothing to do with this conversation. He wasn't happy about the maleficarum joining, but he didn't want to have to start making command decisions even more. Solona just got frustrated.

"She's a killer!"

                "So am I! I have more blood on my hands then she ever could." Elissa yelled at her. "The only difference between us, I just don't use magic to do it!"

                Solona just stepped away, looking confused. "I-I..." She tried to defend herself from that but she wasn't sure which way to start.

                "Do you want to step up and make the command decisions Sole?" Elissa asked her. "Do you Alistair?" She turned to face him for a moment. He shook his head and placed his hands up as if to fend her off.

                "No." He said emphatically.

                Solona shook her head. "I don't know enough about the outside world to command. But magic, that's something I do know better than you. And I am telling you she can't be trusted." She seethed with frustration.

                Elissa nodded her head sharply. "Noted. We can always turn her over to the templars if we change our minds before we leave the Tower. But this way the option is open." Elissa said, her stare ending the discussion.

                Alistair wanted to break the tension and decided the best way was to tease Solona. "By the way little sister, that amulet is an award the highest ranking cadet in his class gets at graduation." Alistair told her, his tone teasing. "He must have REALLY liked you."

Solona blushed and walked away from him. Elissa smiled gratefully at him for breaking the tension before moving to rejoin the group.

As they approached the next room Solona sighed. "This was the guest room Duncan stayed in."

Alistair walked forward to open the door with curiosity and stumbled back when he was punched by an undead corpse. Four more joined in. In a way, the undead were more difficult to kill than the abominations since they never slowed or felt pain; they just fought until their bodies fell apart.

Solona sighed and waited for a chance to enter the room that would have been hers. Wynne picked up on the unease she was feeling and placed a hand on her shoulder, Elissa keeping her comments to herself. Like Solona, she was checking each templar body she was seeing, checking for Cullen, hoping that if she found him first that she could stop Solona from seeing him.

Instead, they found two more abominations and a trembling cabinet.

                "What do we have here?" Leliana asked before she reached for the door. Someone had a hold of the inside and was keeping it closed.

                "Are the demons gone?" The voice asked. "Is it safe?"

                "Yes," Elissa called out to him. "They are gone."

                "Alright, I'm coming out then." The voice said trembling with fear.

                The man crawled out of the cabinet. "Godwin. I'm glad to see you're alive." Wynne said in her grandmotherly voice, it was actually soothing for Elissa to hear.

                Godwin stood up and blinked several times taking in the group. "Oh wow! Those demons never knew what hit them did they?"

                Wynne stepped up and cast a simple healing on him. "Are you alright?"

                He nodded. "Yes, now. It was cramped and I have been in there since the attacks started."

                "So you were in there for nearly a full day?" Alistair asked.

                "Um yes." Godwin said, cringing away from the rest of the group.

                "Well you are safe now." Wynne said gently.

                "There are still demons everywhere." He trembled. "They came down the stairways from the top of the Tower."

                "We are dealing with the problem." Elissa stated firmly. "We could use some help."

                Wynne was shaking her head, but Godwin spoke up. "No, no, no, my skills would not be of any use. I'll just stay right here and wait to see what happens."

                "Alright," Elissa said looking more at Wynne than Godwin. "Good luck then."

                "Yes, yes, yes. Good luck to you too." He said before climbing back into his cabinet.

                Elissa waited until they walked out the door. "Care to explain that?" She asked Wynne.

                She sighed. "His only offensive capability is arcane bolt." She explained. "His specialty is potions and research. Preserving documents and translations are his only real skills. He'd be more of a hindrance than an asset."

                "Would he know the Litany?" Sole asked.

                Wynne shook her head. "Not likely. He's also very lazy." She said with a sigh of disappointment. "Even if he had looked at it he likely did not memorize it." Elissa nodded and carried on.

                The next room was the enchanters study, inside were several blood mages and an abomination planning their escape. And in the room after that was the mage Chapel to the Maker with a Rage demon and a couple of Abominations ransacking the room.  Each room was easily won by the group. Their tactics of how the fighters worked and the mages with Leliana standing back seemed to be fine tuning itself as they worked further and further up the Tower.

                The next room was the sermon room where the faithful would take their mass and the templars would perform their prayers. The Statue of Andraste was smashed on the floor and the body of a templar was crumpled off to the right. Elissa managed to get to the body first and checked his face. Shaking her head at Sole, they continued to check the room and Leliana found a vial.

                "What is this?" She asked. "It's so cold." She said as she reached out to pick it up.

                "LELIANA NO!" Shouted Solona, as the vial shattered. The grey mist inside swirled and swooped down between Leliana and the rest of the group, consolidating into a Reverent.

                It was by far the hardest fight they had to date. Alistair had taken a hit on his shield that had left his entire arm sore and numb. Flynn had been thrown into a pillar and was whimpering. Even Sten was winded. 

Once the battle was over Elissa called for a break and they were very thankful they had two healers with them. They also pulled out some simple rations to eat.

                "The next room is the First Enchanter's Office." Solona told Elissa as she healed a light burn and a cut on her arm from the Reverent.

                "That's where we are most likely to get a clear look at what is going on, although it seems clear that this Uldred is the ringleader." Rory joined them in their circle.

                "What do you know about him, Sole?" Alistair asked.

                "Not much, He's a Senior Enchanter, like Wynne, and he's a Libertarian. They desire the Circle to become an autonomous, self-regulating order without the Chantry." She told them. "He didn't have anything to do with apprentices with other specialties so Ostagar was the first time I'd seen him personally, except in passing, in years."

                "The Tower doesn't seem that big." Alistair said looking around.

                "Senior Enchanters don't spend a lot of time on the bottom floor." She explained. Other than the dining hall and library, apprentices and Senior Enchanters have to actually look for each other to really be noticed."

                "So not only are mages segregated from the outside they are segregated inside here too?" Rory asked.

                "Yes." Solona said.

                "We should move on." Elissa suggested.

                The group moved, expecting more enemies but the office was locked. Leliana opened the door and found the room empty of evil beings wishing to kill them.

                "Let's search the room." Elissa ordered.

                They all searched. Elissa and Wynne took the desk while Alistair and Solona took Irving's personal chest once Leliana opened it for them. The others tackled the bookcases.

                "Huh," Alistair grunted as he handed the black book to Solona. "I wonder why that was locked up when there are dozens of books with more magic pouring off of them?"

                Solona took the book and turned the first page. She gasped as she saw the name inscribed. "It's Flemeth's." She turned to Alistair and hissed. "No one finds out about this until I've read it through."

                Alistair nodded as he picked up on her intensity. "Even Elissa?" He asked very quietly.

                She nodded and hid the book in her bag. "Just until I figure out if it's useful."

                He nodded back and then picked up the emerald inside the chest. "Do you have any idea why he had this?"

                She shrugged her shoulders. "Nope, maybe he was going to enchant it for a staff." She guessed.

                Meanwhile, Elissa and Wynne were looking through the notes on the desk. Finding his logbook, Elissa thumbed through the pages from the last few days. Within it, she found Irving's practices of allowing Uldred to search for blood magic disturbing, considering what she knew now. In hindsight it was obvious what Uldred was doing, but to Irving it seemed his insight was Maker-sent, all the while Greagoir was ranting about rooting out the blood magic users in the Tower, especially after what happened with Solona's friend Jowan. Wynne picked up a red painted box that seemed to be soothing, but not in any sinister way.

                The other's found a few books, and two staves and Flynn found a note that suggested that the Circle was in the midst of a war of Ideals between the fraternities.

                All together they headed to the steps leading up to the next level.

 


	6. chapter 6

**Evening 9 th of Kingsway**

**Third Floor of Kinloch Hold Circle Tower**

                There was a lack of bodies on the third floor. Or at least a lack of bodies that were not made into the undead in the Great Hall. Eight undead and one Arcane Horror were in the Dining Hall and kitchen area, and five Abominations in the Templar training hall beside it. It made it easier for the group to fight one-on-one in the larger spaces with the mages and Leliana helping when they could. Although with so many abominations together it was impossible to avoid getting caught in the backlash of flames from their deaths.

                The Templar training room was the worst so far for Solona. There were over ten bodies in there, none in armor. She and Elissa quickly took a look for Cullen and then stepped back.

                "I've lost track of how many people we've seen." Solona admitted, sobbing softly.

                "Fourteen mages, twenty-one Templars, twenty-four Abominations, twelve undead and seven charred people I'm not sure which they were." Alistair listed out. "One tranquil, and twenty-six mages alive, including the children."

                Almost everyone turned and stared at him in horror for various reasons, the exception was Rory. "You've kept count?" Elissa asked stunned and sounded horrified at the idea.

                Alistair turned and looked at her with deep sorrow. "I need to know how many to pray for when we leave this place."

                Elissa gasped and placed her hand over her mouth. "Oh, I never thought of that."

                Solona gave Alistair as tight a hug as she was capable of considering he was in armor. "Thank you, big brother. I can't think about who they are yet but, thank you." She sobbed softly, Alistair just patted her back and held her until she pulled away.

                "That was my count too." Rory sighed and placed a hand on Alistair's arm. "I am fairly certain the undead were Templars or guards of some sort, and the charred corpses were mages based on the armor or trinkets they were carrying." Alistair nodded his agreement.

                "I knew these people." Solona sobbed. Wynne too teared up and placed a hand on her shoulder. She was obviously too upset to speak.

                "They will be avenged." Sten said. Flynn barked his agreement and licked Solona's hand.

                "Thank you." Solona choked out.

                 

                It took several minutes for the group to be ready to proceed. While Solona was trying to get herself together she was losing hope of finding Irving or her other friends, or even Cullen. As she stood there looking at the corpses she began to get angry. She let that emotion fuel her and steady her, to keep herself from crying. If her friends no longer lived than she was going to do as Sten had suggested. She was going to avenge them, and damn anyone who got in her way.

                In the Senior Mage quarters there were two possessed Templars that the party had to kill, but the next room gave the group some hope for survivors. A desire demon had charmed five Templars. Solona and Wynne together cast a very powerful sleep spell on them. Elissa and Rory then killed the Desire Demon. Once they were done with that the group tied up the Templars, letting them sleep off the charm and spell.

                In the final room, the smell and sights were horrific. There were three undead archers with two abominations who seemed to be doing some type of ritual to the Tranquil. Seven bodies were thrown off to the side while one more was tied to a fleshy post, around the statue were lyrium deposits growing up out of the floor. They freed the girl and told her to head downstairs to the main floor. She left walking as if she didn't have a care in the world. Even Sten looked a little alarmed by her behavior.

 

**Fourth Floor**

                "I don't know this area at all." Solona told them. "From here on is the Templar quarters and the Harrowing chamber. I only walked through here the once and was carried back out."

                "Carried out?" Leliana asked.

                Wynne spoke up. "The Harrowing tends to leave the mage very tired. Once they awaken and are deemed not possessed the junior Templar present assists the mage back to their quarters."

                Solona pinked. "I don't really remember waking after my Harrowing, I just woke in my bed."

                "Yes, Irving said that your Harrowing was over so quickly that the lyrium was still overloading your system." Wynne chuckled slightly. "He said you woke up and looked at the Templar standing over you and said, 'Valor is so pissed at you honey,' and then you sighed and went back to sleep." The group, having so little to laugh at, found the statement overly funny and most of them laughed, even Flynn let out a doggy chuckle. "The poor Templar was a stuttering mess and when they couldn't wake you he just picked you up and carried you down all five levels."

                "Valor, huh." Elissa smiled at her. "So you've spoken to him already."

                Solona rolled her eyes. "I told you that. He's the spirit I argued with to get the fade staff."

                "Right. We'll let's get going then." Alistair said clapping his hands together. "More demons and such to kill."

                "Hopefully we've killed most of them already." Wynne sighed, looking a little tired.

                The group looked around the first room. Fleshy monstrosities seemed to be growing on the pillars and walls and there were piles of bodies strewn about the floor. These Templars must have been caught unaware, as none of them were in armor.

                Within the three rooms that held the barracks for junior members, one templar had been so enthralled there was no way to avoid killing him, including the four undead that popped up, and the Desire Demon holding him. And in the other room a blood mage held three Templars as thralls. Even with the death of the mage the three were not freed from her influence and died at their hands. 

                Walking into the center room they ran into the most powerful Sloth demon any of them had ever encountered. Niall, the mage who had taken the Litany, was laying nearby, clearly trapped in the fade. 

The demon's voice held a hypnotic effect, pulling them all into a sleep state and sending them all into the Fade at once. They tried to fight it but the feeling was too overwhelming.

 

**The Fade**

                Elissa found herself in Castle Cousland. Rory and Flynn were with her and she was on the training grounds. They were laughing and training when her mother came up and reminded her that her betrothed would be arriving soon. Prince Alistair Therein, King Cailan's brother was going to be visiting her for a few weeks before their wedding. She quickly ran ahead to change, blissfully happy. Something nagged at her as not quite right, but she didn't care. Elissa Cousland was getting married to someone she loved. That was a dream she never thought would happen. And best of all she would have no overwhelming responsibilities as the wife of the spare to the throne. Something about that wasn't quite alright either, but she brushed it off.

                Alistair found himself surrounded by his sister and her children. He was playing and laughing with the younger ones, and for the first time completely accepted for who he was. That thought felt untrue but he easily ignored it. Someone was missing though, he was sure of that. Maybe they would stop by later, or when he went home they would be waiting.

                Wynne was happy. The apprentices she had thought were dead, were not. They were all around her safe and sound, telling her she had saved them.  She smiled at them and together they began to go through their lessons for the day. Wynne was content for the first time in a while. Still, a part of her was restless, almost fighting to tell her something, like a name you can't remember on the tip of your tongue. Still she let it go, it would come to her later.

                Leliana was back in the Chantry praying and preparing to take her vows to become a full Sister, not just a Lay Sister. The Reverend Mother stood with her, proud of her and she bowed her head in preparation. Leliana was content, she would be serving the Maker, she just wished she didn't feel as if she should be serving the Maker in a more tangible way.

                Rory woke at Castle Cousland. He knew today was the day Teyrn Bryce was going to grant him the nearby farmlands with a small manor, as his due as a Knight of Highever. With those lands he would finally be allowed to take a wife and live his life serving his best friend's family, and one day teach his children to do the same. He had no doubt his children would learn beside Elissa's. That thought did not ring true, but he dismissed it. Of course she might move away when she married, that had to be the problem with that thought. Still, a sense of unease persisted as he prepared for the day.

                Sten knew there was something wrong but he did not fight the dream. He knew it was a dream. He remembered the two companions dying, cut down by Darkspawn. The thing controlling the dream seemed to want it to be a good dream and so he let the dream play out.

                Solona woke to find herself in a cottage she had never seen before, in a large bed with a fire burning in the fireplace. She moved to get out of bed when she realized someone was entering the room. She gasped and pulled the blankets up over her bared chest. An older looking Cullen was entering, without armor and smiling as he brought her a tray with breakfast cheeses and bread with thick butter.

                "And how is my darling wife this morning?" He asked her as he placed the tray down on the bedside table.

                "Your what?" She blinked hard.

                He sighed and caressed her hair. "Still forgetting?" He asked. "I joined you as a Grey Warden, we defeated the Blight with the help of the Grey Wardens of Orlais and Nevarra." He explained as if he had done so several times before. "The Archdemon did something to you and you were so severely hurt during the battle. You often think the Blight is still on-going my love."

                Solona shook her head. "When did you join?"

                "After the Circle." He explained. "You stopped the Rite, and Greagoir was going to go back on his word. I quit the Templars and joined you."

                Solona concentrated hard. "Why would you do that?"

                He chuckled and caressed her face once more. "You needed me. And so did Ferelden." He explained. "I did more good for Thedas and the Maker by being at your side than I ever could as a Templar."

                "Where is Elissa?" She concentrated, this felt wonderful, but wrong somehow.

                Cullen shook his head. "She is in Denerim with Alistair. She's Warden-Commander now as well as Queen to King Alistair."

                "Oh." Solona was confused. Elissa was suppose to be Queen and she knew Alistair couldn't be King, because he was a warden. "How did Alistair become King? Or Elissa Warden-Commander? She wasn't a Warden."

                "The Landsmeet decided to grant them the throne. And Elissa joined when I did." Cullen looked a little put out by this line of questioning. "Elissa's s children are also doing well." He added.

                Solona's eyes widened. "How many?" Children between two Wardens was nearly impossible she remembered.

                Cullen laughed. "Four. The last one just this past year."

                "How many years has it been?" Solona asked quietly, her suspicions growing with each response.

                "Ten." Cullen smiled as he kissed her cheek.

                Solona froze and closed her eyes. She recited the diary to herself. The issues with Rava Cousland getting pregnant and the fact that pregnancy was impossible after five years, even more so impossible for two wardens together. Besides Elissa was a Cousland she would never shirk her duty, not even for her own happiness or desires. She would never become a Grey Warden, ever.

                A voice inside her head reassured her. "She would not, she is a Daughter of Amell, like you."

                She smiled and moved to get up. Willing herself to no longer be naked but in full armor with her staff in her hands. Both shimmered into existence instantly. "Wrong, Demon." She snarled.

                Cullen's eyes widened and he backed up quickly. "NO SOLE! DO NOT DO THIS!"

You are NOT CULLEN!" She screamed as she cast a powerful fireball right at his heart. The heat burned away the image of Cullen, leaving behind the first male Desire Demon she had ever seen. The fade around her shifted into a vast, yellowed landscape.

Males were extremely rare and more powerful than their female counterparts. As they began to trade blows, Solona felt her strength fading and she reached for a lyrium vent. Feeling refreshed, she continued to attack. Once the demon was dead, she felt the Fade around her shift once more.

                She was standing on the empty field with a pedestal. Touching the inside she felt herself being transferred to another place. Niall is there waiting. He explained that they were inside a pocket of the Fade ruled by the Sloth demon. He told her how to move about this realm of the Fade. It felt like it took forever for her to maneuver about the Sloth demon's domain. Whenever she was unsure which way to go she would feel the voice in her head directing her towards a doorway, or item that helped her in defeating the demons who were trying to keep her from rescuing her companions. Each of them was trapped in their own dream, like she had been.

                The hardest dream to overcome is Elissa's. Only by stabbing demon Alistair through the heart with a dagger, getting the demon to drop its glamour proving they were in the Fade before Elissa was ready to finally admit she where she was and help Solona defeat her dream. The easiest was Flynn, the dog had just been asleep within the Fade and only needed to be woken up. Sten had also been easy. The others all took a bit of prodding but they too realized something was wrong and disbelieved their dreams.

                They had defeated the Sloth Demon together. Solona was glad the others had joined her because there was no way she could have done it alone. This demon was easily the most powerful she had ever encountered. Even in the Mage Plate Armor she had found, it is likely she would have been killed. The armor was as light as her Warden armor but so much more effective.

                The Demon tried several incarnations during the final fight, but each was overcome by the different talents and tactics of the group. Finally it died and Niall came and explained he was dying, the demon had used his life-force to fuel their dreams and his body did not have enough energy left for him to retake it. He reminded them to take the Litany before they faded back into reality.

                Solona watched as each of her friends faded away leaving only her behind. She was beginning to worry she was trapped when a familiar figure stepped out from the edge of her periphery. His body was made of white light, his helm covered his face, and embossed on his chest plate was a knight charging forward into battle.

                "Hello Valor." She said with a slight smile.

                He regarded her for a long moment. "You did well." his voice was laced with begrudging approval.

                Solona shivered as she thought of her trial. "Thank you." She whispered.

                His eyes held her. They were hard and she felt as if her soul was being weighed and she wasn't quite measuring up. "You are not yet ready." He said disapprovingly. "You will need to become stronger."

                She nodded, she knew she was depending on Elissa too much. She was the Grey Warden, she should be leading, but so much was new to her and it had only been a week. "I know. I have a great teacher, she's showing me how to be what I need to be."

                Valor nodded. "Follow her for now but follow your own path, yours will be linked to all. You are one of the four, and one of the eight."

                Solona didn't understand what he meant, and before she could ask the Fade slipped away and she opened her eyes. She was aware of everyone else already beginning to stand and she slowly moved to follow.

                "That was very..." Alistair struggled for words as they all stood slowly. The feeling of lying too long in a bad position was plaguing him and he was trying to stretch out the kinks.

                "Intense." Leliana supplied a little breathlessly. "Is the Fade always like that?"

                Wynne shook her head. "No, that was more intense than I have ever encountered before." She admitted.

                "I think it was because we were in a pocket of the Fade that that particular demon has ruled for a very long time, it was backed by other powerful demons and was reinforced with Niall's life." Solona explained. "All of those enhancements together made it difficult for me to even see it was the Fade, at first."

                Wynne shivered and looked down in shame. "I did not even try." She admitted.

                The others agreed, they didn't know it was the fade, or want to break free. Not at first. 

Sten was the only one who seemed unaffected. "I just waited for you to come Warden."

                "Why?" She asked, somewhat shocked at the idea that Sten trusted her.

                "I knew it was wrong and likely magic. It made sense you would come for me when it was time to leave." he said before turning to walk away from the conversation.

                "How long were we in there, I wonder?" Alistair asked, looking around for anything to give any indication of the passage of time.

                Wynne cast a simple tempus spell. "About six hours."

                Solona laughed grimly. "It felt much longer to me."

                Elissa had been very quiet since they had awoken. "We should move on. We have no idea how much time we have left and the apprentices that will meet the Templars first are below us."

                Several rooms later Solona stopped them at the door. "Remember that conversation about dragons, Alistair."

                He groaned. "Let me guess, the beast master's quarters."

                "Yup." Solona sighed before opening the door and the group being beset by three large dragonlings.

                After the fight, it took several long minutes to treat burns and wounds from the claws and teeth. Leliana did find a beautiful collar for Flynn and another sturdy Mabari collar and some Kaddis in the beast master's trunks. Flynn was proud of his new collar, he even posed for Elissa in it to show it off. But even better in Flynn's mind was the Beef Bone Elissa promised she'd give him at camp.

                There were five more abominations and three shades hiding near the Knight-Commander's office and the kitchen for the Templars. With only the anti-chamber and the Harrowing chamber left, the group was losing hope of finding anyone else alive, so it caught Solona completely by surprise to see a Templar encased in a forcefield of light. The Knight on his knees was next to the bodies of two more Templars. She would know that curly blond hair anywhere.

                "CULLEN!" She cried out as she ran across the room to the edge of the barrier. She placed her gauntleted hand against the magic, it felt solid and evil to touch, but she pressed on it anyway trying to reach out to him.

                Cullen got to his feet. "This trick again." He snorted in disgust. "I know what you are! It won't work." He snarled at her. "I will stay strong." he growled out kneeling down on his knees again.

                "What won't work? Cullen it's me, Solona!" She cried out to him, hitting the barrier yet again.

                "I know that only too well! Oh, how far they must have delved into my thoughts." He cried out.

                Wynne came forward. "The boy is exhausted. And this cage is like nothing I have ever seen. Pounding on it doesn't seem to be effective in the least." She said studying where Solona had tried to beat on it. "Rest easy, we will help you." she told him, once more using her soothing voice, only this time it had the opposite effect. Instead of soothing him, it enraged him.

                Cullen growled. "Enough visions! If anything of you is human, kill me now and stop this game!" He yelled.

                "No! No, Cullen, please. I can't kill you." Solona cried.

                "No! You broke the others but you will not break me!" He cried out. "I'll stay strong for all our sakes!" He looked down at the floor muttering loud enough to be heard. "Sifting through my thoughts, tempting me with the one thing I have wanted but could never have... Lashing me with the memory of our kiss... Using that shame against me... My ill-advised infatuation with her... a mage of all things."

                Solona sobbed, hurt at the words, but knowing they were true. "No Cullen. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." She fell to her knees in front of him.

                "I am so tired of these cruel jokes... these tricks!" He cried.

                "Perhaps you shouldn't be saying these things, Cullen." Elissa said calmly as she placed her hand on Solona's shoulder for support as she sobbed. She had hoped her words might stop him from embarrassing himself, and also spare Solona from hearing his regret over a simple kiss.

                "Silence! I will not listen to you anymore, now be gone." He cried out standing and almost charging the cage to stand face to face with Elissa. She stood impassively in front of him. She was not impressed. Here Solona had been tearing herself apart looking for him and he was calling their attraction shameful, as if anyone had control over who they fell in love with or found attractive.

                Cullen took a step back in flabbergasted astonishment. Elissa crossed her arms and stared at him. "You're still here? But that has always worked before. I close my eyes but you are still here!"

                "Makes you wish you hadn't said those things to her now, doesn't it?" Elissa snapped at him.

                Solona stood and wiped her eyes. "Elissa stop, please." She looked up at Cullen but he was staring at Elissa with a look bordering on hatred, something she could never remember ever seeing on his face before.

                Cullen continued to ignore Solona's presence. "I am beyond caring what you think. The Maker knows my sins, and I have prayed he will forgive me."

                Solona turned away from him and Rory stepped forward to take her into his arms. She cried into his shoulder.

                Elissa was livid. "There is nothing wrong with being attracted to someone you pompous idiot! I don't see why it is causing you to be so cruel." Alistair felt some sympathy for the young templar. Cullen couldn't be more than eighteen summers and he alone in the whole Tower had managed to fight off the demons as they tore his friends and charges apart. He made an effort to pull Elissa back from the barrier.

                "It was just the foolish fancy of a naive boy. I know better now." He glared back at her. He looked over at Solona in Rory's arms and his face slipped slightly into pain before hardening again. "Why are you back at the Tower, how have you survived?"

                "Is it so surprising that I returned." Solona asked as she dried her tears and turned in Rory's arms. He placed his hands on her shoulders. "This was my home."

                "It was mine too, but look what they have done to it! Uldred and the other deserve to die for it!" He snarled once more. "They caged us like animals, looking for ways to break us, or simply killing us for our blood to perform their rituals." He looked down in near defeat. "I'm the only one left."

                "Not quite. The Knight Commander has a large group in the front foyer," Elissa said startling him into looking at her, "and we saved as many of your brothers as we could."

                "Thank you for that." He said softly. He seemed surprised to not be the only survivor. Being up here and not seeing anyone else while being tortured by demons had to have been traumatic.

                "You should be proud." Sten said. "You managed to master yourself."

                Cullen shifted once again back into an aggressive stance once more. "Be proud?" He spat. "Of what? That I lived while they died or fell to the demon's tricks? All the while there was nothing I could do?"

                "You stayed strong and fought, that is a good thing." Sten said.

                "And to think I once thought we were too hard on you!" Cullen snarled at Solona.

                Solona looked down once but finally got angry. Gone was the Templar who she could trust. That Templar who looked at her like she was a sentient being with thoughts and feelings was dead. "And to think I once respected you enough that if I had seen anything like this coming I would have reported it to you. You think I wanted something like this? Do you think they wanted to die? Did you know more mages are dead than Templars? Or are Templars the only lives that matter now? We are not all evil, you know!"

                "Only mages have that much power at their fingertips, and only mages are susceptible to the whispers of the demons!" He yelled back at her. His face twisted with rage.

                "Idiocy and nonsense." Elissa snorted, her tone pulled him up short. "I've seen several possessed Templars on the way up here. Try again, Chantry Boy."

                "This is a discussion for another time." Wynne suggested softly. "Irving and the other mages who fought against Uldred. Where are they?"

                Cullen shook his head. "They were dragged into the Harrowing Chamber a little while ago--" He shuttered. "The screams and sounds coming from in there... Oh Maker!" He cried.

                Wynne turned to Elissa. "We must hurry."

                Elissa nodded. She handed the Litany to Leliana. "Could you be ready to read the Litany?"

                "Of course. What do I look for?" She asked.

                "I'll explain." Wynne said pulling her aside.

                "You can't save them!" Cullen cried out banging on the barrier from his side. "You don't know what they have become!"

                "I'm a mage, too." Solona sighed. "I'm aware of what we are facing."

                "But you haven't been up there." For a moment she thought she saw the old Cullen but his eyes harden again. "You haven't been under Uldred and his blood mages' influence!"

                Alistair just shook his head. "He's reacting to the death of his friends, Sole. He doesn't mean it the way it sounds." He said trying to console her. "It's too fresh in his mind."

                Cullen was still talking to Elissa and didn't hear Alistair's comments. "You have to end it. Before it's too late!"

                Elissa raised a brow. "What did you think we've been doing?" She rolled her eyes. "We are going to save everyone we can, Templar and Mage, both!"

                "Are you really saving anyone taking a risk like this? To ensure you get all the blood mages and abominations you need to kill them all."

                Elissa snort. "I'd rather spare a Maleficarum, than kill an innocent."

                Wynne sighed in relief. "I knew you would make a rational decision."

                "Rational?" Cullen sputtered. "How is that rational? Do you not understand the danger?"

                "I know full well the dangers of magic young man." Wynne lectured the Templar. "But killing innocents because they could be maleficarum is not justice." Solona and Elissa quickly exchanged a startled look. "I know you are angry..."

                "You know nothing! I am thinking of the future of the Circle of Ferelden." He cried.

                "The Circles are broken Cullen. It's not going to just go back to the way it was. Too much has happened." Solona yelled. "Too many have died!"

                "You think I don't know that?" He snapped.

                "You have only seen a fraction of the bodies, of the dead we have." She turned away from him as she tried to block the images she was remembering from earlier from flashing through her mind. "You think you know what is going on, but you only know what you've seen here. We've seen it all. From the children downstairs to the demons playing with the minds and feelings of everyone in this Tower! I won't add the blood of innocents to my hands. Not just for your piece of mind!"

                "I can see just fine what the blood mages are capable of. I can see the painful truth that you are willing to ignore!" He banged on the barrier again. "But what can I do? Trapped in here."

                Sten spoke up. "What he says makes sense. These mages are out of control."

                Elissa turned on him. "You support his suggestion?"

                "Of course he does." Solona snorted. "By Qun standards, I am also out of control without a collar and my mouth sewn shut."

                "The infection of blood magic must be cleansed before it can spread." Sten said. "While by Qun standards you are out of control, you are capable of controlling yourself." He looked down at her with disapproval. "Usually."

                Elissa just shook her head. "It's not that simple, Sten."

                "Perhaps." he replied.

                Cullen paced. "As you can see I can't do anything about this, but I would love to be the one to deal with those Mages."

                "We'll free you afterward." Elissa sighed. "I can't risk you turning on us."

                "No one ever listens." He snarled. "May the Maker turn his gaze on you. I hope your compassion hasn't doom us all."

                Wynne smiled at him sadly. "Keep your Faith my boy. May the Maker protect you a little longer."

                With that, Cullen turned his back on the group and they prepared for the final assault. Elissa turned to Leliana. "Are you ready?"

                "Yes Constable." She nodded.

                "Then let's end this."

 

**Harrowing Chamber**

                Entering the room they saw a mage being tortured and forcefully changed into an abomination. Elissa pointed out the group of older mages including Irving to Leliana. She hid in the shadows and moved to cover so she could concentrate on using the Litany as needed. Uldred and his minions turned towards the group just after she was out of sight. He seemed surprised by the size of the party but still extremely overconfident.

                He smirked. "Ah, I remember you. Irving's star pupil. Uldred didn't think much of you then and I certainly don't see your appeal now."

                Wynne gasped. "He's a demon." She hissed to the others.

                Elissa stepped forward to address the arrogant demon. "Well, you're not very impressive either."

                "Well, I guess one can't be loved universally."

                "And some can't be loved at all. Did your mother even want you or did she throw you to the Templars begging them to get rid of you?" She taunted.

                He laughed. "Pathetic. I'm quite impressed you are still alive. That must mean you killed all my servants." He pretended to be concerned. "Ah, well, they are better off dead in service to me than living with the terrible responsibility of independence."

                "You really are a wretched bastard." Elissa snarled. "Attack!" 

The group surged forward, attacking the abominations. Uldred turned into a large Pride Demon and it only took about ten seconds before he began to use blood magic. Leliana was quick to begin the Litany. The counter waves of magic from the scroll made thinking easier. Breaking off into two groups, Solona, Elissa and Alistair focused on Uldred, trying to keep him too busy to engage in blood magic and to kill him, while Flynn, Rory, Sten and Wynne whittled down the abominations. Leliana dodged and ran to each of the mages as the blood magic began to swirl and swoop down on them. Uldred was so busy fending off spells and sword swings intermixed with even a Templar Smite, that he never really got a good look at the rogue making his attempts at controlling the others useless. Uldred finally fell without so much as a whimper, his body reverting to human as he fell to the ground.

                They checked the First Enchanter and the other three mages, all were still alive and breathing. Only Irving was awake, the others having fallen unconscious during the battle, mostly from exhaustion and relief.

                "Maker! I am getting too old for this type of thing." The elder Mage moaned as Alistair helped him to stand.

                Wynne came forward and placed a healing hand on his chest. "Irving, are you alright?" She asked urgently.

                "I've been better." Looking at the group he could see two Grey Wardens, both Elissa and Alistair in their Warden Battle Armor. Solona was hidden inside her new Mage Fade Plate. She took off her helm and approached Irving.

                "I'm so glad to see you alive." She told him. "Greagoir has asked for the Rite of Annulment. Without you he won't believe the Tower is cleansed."

                "Ah." He said taking a deep breath. "I am glad to see you have returned, and are alive. Uldred had said you were dead." He took yet another deep breath. "The Circle owes you a debt it can never repay."

                Elissa motioned Alistair and Rory forward to help Irving. "Let's get downstairs and let Greagoir know the Tower is safe."

                It took a while to get everyone downstairs. Mages were awakened and staggered along slowly, Godwin was collected from his cabinet and as they passed Cullen's cage the magic had vanished and so had the templar. Elissa was sure he would be downstairs with the others by the door leading out. The mages cheered when Irving, with the help of the others, walked through the door. The whole group approached the barred doors where Cullen was talking through to Greagoir.

                Upon hearing Irving give a pre-arranged password that the Tower was secure Greagoir happily opened the doors. Irving assured him that Uldred was dead, although Cullen tried to get the Knight-Commander to kill them anyway. He wasn't persuaded, although he did nearly back away from the deal to help in the Blight.

                "All the Mages of fighting age will be with us." Solona reminded him. "Surely a few Templars to watch over the children and the retired are all that would need to sit out the fight."

                "Our concern is the Circle." He reminded her.

                Solona laughed. "And the Circle will not be here." She pointed out. "They will be with us, fighting the Darkspawn, their Emissaries and the Archdemon."

                "Surely you want in on a fight like that?" Elissa laughed. "Fighting the most corrupt of magic users ever to walk the face of Thedas! And an Archdemon, man!"

                Greagoir laughed enviously. "You do have a point there, young one." He shook his head. "Alright, when the Circle is called the Templars will assist."

                "Thank you, Knight-Commander." Elissa said.

                The others began to move away when Greagoir put a hand on her elbow. "A word, Constable?"

                Elissa nodded and they moved to a corner so not to be overheard. "Can you give me any idea what happened to Cullen? His behavior is disturbing and so unlike him I am beginning to think him possessed." Elissa told him what they had seen and what he had told them.

                "I feared it was something like that was possible too." He looked concerned towards the young man who was standing alone and staring angrily at the mages. "They were never together?" He asked more than a little confused. "I was sure they had been, at least a few times."

                Elissa shook her head. "One kiss when she left. That was all. She didn't want to tempt him, and he took his vows seriously."

                "That amulet... Do you know what it is?" He asked curiously.

                Elissa nodded slowly. "Alistair explained it. He's an ex-templar trainee so he knows much about the Order."

                "When I saw it on her before you went in I knew she would stop at nothing to find him." He sighed sadly. "Nothing good comes when Mages and Templars form romantic relationships... Well almost nothing." He breathed softly looking towards Wynne.                  

                "He is going to need some serious help. His hatred is almost a living thing." She warned him. "He wanted to kill her when he saw her upstairs."

                Greagoir looked defeated and tired. "I'll be sending him and the other five men you rescued to a place to heal and I'll request new men from the Chantries to replace those we lost. So many men lost. It will take time with the Blight, but this will not be the best place for them to recover."

                "I'm sorry we couldn't save more." Elissa said sincerely.

                "At least you tried to save as many as you could. Thank you." He looked slightly embarrassed as he said this. "May the Maker bless and watch over you, my dear."

                "And you, Knight-Commander."

                While Elissa and Greagoir were talking, Solona approached Cullen. He flinched as she came close. She slowly pulled his amulet out from her armor and took it off. "I know how much this means to you." She told him quietly. "I thought you should have it back."

                He looked at her outstretched hand for a long moment before he shakily held out his hand for her to place it in it. "You don't have to do that. I gave it to you for a reason." His voice trembling with nerves or anger, she didn't know.

                She nodded sadly. "I know, but I think you need that protection more than I do now. I have my cousin, and my friends, and my new family in the Grey Wardens to protect me... the way you used to." She hugged herself tightly. "Thank you for that. I felt safer living in the Tower as an apprentice because of you. I hope you find someone who can do that for you, someday soon."

                He looked at her as if he didn't understand what she was saying. He just nodded. "Take care of yourself, Solona."

                "You too, Cullen." She walked back to the group as Cara approached them.

                "I'm all packed." She said quietly.

                "What's this?" Greagoir asked. "I knew Wynne had asked to go with you, but no one mentioned Cara."

                "I'm sorry Greagoir. In the mess of things I forgot I conscripted her." Elissa said.

                Greagoir narrowed his eyes. "Can _you_ do that?" While he knew she'd been a recruit he was leery of her 'promotion' to Constable.

                Elissa nodded. "Duncan gave me the authority on his behalf before he died." She said quietly. "If you prefer I can get Alistair to say the words and make it even more official for you since he's been a warden longer then I have."

                "She's a blood mage?" He asked, ignoring her suggestion.

                Elissa shook her head so she wouldn't have to say the lie outright. "She was just caught between a rock and a hard place. She offered to help us with the Blight and I accepted."

                He sighed. "Go then, before I change my mind."

                "May the Maker smile on you, Knight-Commander."

                They had to take two trips this time because of the extra person and extra weight from the new armor Solona had acquired. It was just getting dark the day after they had entered the Tower when they made it back to the tavern. Alistair and Rory compared lists and had surprisingly come up with the same numbers. 

Among the dead were sixty-four Mages, fifty-four Templars, twelve Tranquil, fourteen demons, three dragonlings, and three shades. The number of demons increased when they had spoken to Solona about her actions in the Fade. They agreed the other creatures didn't count as they were in the Fade and not the Tower. Only the Demons counted because they served the Sloth Demon and likely would have crossed over at some point, possible in their own bodies. It was the lives they saved that Solona was more interested in; twenty-nine adult mages, sixteen children, six Templars and two Tranquil. Still, Alistair asked if they could have time in the morning for a small send-off for their souls.

                Arriving at camp saw they had a new person waiting for them and a new mabari war hound. As they began to walk up the new dog ran towards Solona and jumped up and barked happily at her.

                "What the-!" Solona cried out.

                Alistair got down on one knee and inspected the dog. "Isn't she the dog from Ostagar? The one you helped?"

                Solona nodded. "I think so." The dog rubbed her head under Solona's fingers.

                "Congratulations!" Alistair laughed. "It's a girl!" Elissa laughed at his joke first before the others joined in.

                "What's so funny?" Solona pouted, since she didn't understand the joke.

                Leliana giggled softly but gave the dog an adoring look. "The dog has imprinted on you." She explained. "She is now yours as Flynn is Elissa's."

                "Oh." She was surprised. She'd never really thought about owning a pet before, and a mabari hardly counted as a pet; they were far too intelligent.

                "What will you name her?" Cara asked.

                "I don't know." She said quietly. "Can I think about it?"

                The dog barked and settled by her side as she walked to the logs someone had dragged around the fire in the center of the camp. The rest of the party began to get ready to sleep for the night. Even though it was early evening they were all exhausted. Morrigan held her tongue when she saw the battle weary looks and the two new mages among them.

“Leliana, could I speak to you in private?” Elissa asked the pretty redhead. Her face was flushed with a bashful smile as she lightly gestured towards the river that emptied into the lake nearby.

                Leliana got up from where she was tuning the small lute that Elissa had found for her several days ago. “Of course, my friend.” She said curiously. Elissa had never wanted to talk to her away from everyone else before.

                The two walked well away from camp before the found a good spot to sit and talk, the river was just loud enough that it would be hard for them to be overheard without noticing the person sneaking up on them. Elissa sat down and immediately began to nibble at her lip while wrapping her right arm around her right knee.

                “What is it Elissa? You know I will not judge you.” Leliana nudged her verbally once she spent several minutes not looking or talking to her.

                Elissa put her head down. “This is so embarrassing.”

                Leliana giggled. “This is about Alistair then.” No one had missed the longing glances and the shy, innocent flirting they had done so far, but as far as Leliana knew they hadn’t kissed yet, although it wouldn’t be long if kept flirting the way they were going. Leliana had seen the rose he had asked Sandal to enchant so it would last forever.

                Elissa’s face felt so hot she felt like she would burst into flames. “It’s that obvious?” She asked as she ducked her face deeper into her arm to hide the flush. “Maker, help me.”

                Leliana giggled more and put her arm around Elissa’s shoulder. “It is very sweet the way you two both look at each other.”

                Elissa couldn’t help but smile. “He’s not like anyone else I know. He can make me laugh, even when I didn’t think I ever would again.”

                Leliana sighed adoringly. “That is something very special to find. He is your soul-mate, Maker made for you.”

                Elissa smiled widely at the thought. “I think so too.” Her face clouded over a little. “This brings me to why I asked you out here… I need some advice on how to—“ Her voice trailed off as it exploded into dark red blushes again.

                Leliana’s tinkling giggle rang out once more at the adorable bashful look on her friend’s face. “You needed a girl’s advice on pleasuring a man and didn’t want to ask your best friend since he is a man?” She laughed while nudging Elissa with her elbow to make her laugh along with her.

Elissa couldn’t help but join in as she pictured his face if she had asked her best friend his opinion. Rory Gilmore would be mortified if she discussed the topic with him. “Yeah Rory wouldn’t take the questions well.”

“What would you like to know?” Leliana asked her, trying to sound a little more serious, because she knew Elissa had come to her for a reason. She was truly worried about this, and she remembered what it was like to be a blushing virgin with her first lover. Leliana hadn’t been with any men because she wanted to be. The encounters were more job-related than for pleasure, unlike with her ex-lover Marjolaine, that was almost always for pure pleasure. All that aside, she’d had to learn several tricks for pleasuring men.

Elissa cleared her throat and sat up straighter, trying obviously to be serious. “Other than drunken kisses, and that one with Rory, I’ve never really kissed anyone before.” She admitted.

Leliana’s eyes widened with surprise. “Not even Nathaniel? He was the boy you had a crush on yes?”

Elissa ducked her head and nodded. “He only kissed my cheek once.”

Leliana sat back on her hands as she thought. With Elissa being this innocent she wasn’t sure what advice to offer. She could show her how to kiss. Showing was much easier than explaining, but anything else would defiantly have to be explained in detail. “So you want to learn to kiss or something else?”

Elissa stared at her with a pained, anxious look. “I don’t even know what to ask about.” She finally admitted. “The guys in the barracks were always talking about blow jobs and quick experiences with the maids against walls and such, but I don’t want a quick tumble.”

Leliana smiled softly and encouragingly. “For a woman’s first time it is important to do several things and you can help make things better for you both.” She told her in her most serious voice.

Elissa suddenly was sitting up straight and paying close attention. “First, because it will be his first time too I suggest instead of a blow job that you let him show you how to use your hand on him until he comes first.”

Elissa looked down shyly but nodded, took a deep breath and looked back up. “I heard men don’t last long the first time.”

Leliana nodded encouragingly. “This is true, like you it will be new and men tend to lose control faster. Alistair will need a little time to recover and during that time it would be best to prepare yourself then with a little foreplay.” She suggested. “Show him how you like to be touched, encourage him to use his mouth on you and place his fingers inside, if you are wet only.” She emphasized.

Elissa placed her hands on her hot cheeks. She felt like she was never going to stop blushing. “That shouldn’t be a problem.” She muttered. “He only has to hold my hand and I want him.”

Leliana squealed with excitement. “Oh that’s good, otherwise you would need oils and such.”

“Oh Maker’s Arse, this is so embarrassing.” She sighed as she dropped her forehead to her knees.

“Do not be surprised if he finishes before you. Timing things so you both finish at the same time only happens in novels.” Leliana said with an encouraging and patient smile. “It takes many encounters before it is possible to know each other that well.”

“Really?” Elissa perked up and looked directly into Leliana’s eyes for the first time since they had sat down. “It’s not expected? I was worried, you know if I couldn’t-” Her voice trailed off uncertainly.

Leliana shook her head and smiled. “You will.” She assured her. “It just might be with his fingers or mouth after. If that happens, make sure to tell him it’s normal and you don’t mind. Believe me you will not mind as long as he’s gentle.” She giggled.

Elissa looked much more relaxed now than when they had started. “Why did you say not to worry about blow jobs?” She asked with a much lighter blush this time.

Leliana thought of how to word this without making it obvious how much she found the experience to be distasteful to her. “There are two types of ways to do it. One is to make him ready for sex, foreplay, and working the shaft with your hand while your mouth and tongue plays with just the head and about an inch or so in your mouth. It will take a little while for you both to find what you like and what works. The first time is not the time to learn that.” She finally said with a light smile on her face and her voice light.

Leliana couldn’t help but look a little more disturbed as she continued. “The way the men were talking in the barracks was most likely the other kind. It’s not so much a blow job as it’s the man fucking a woman’s mouth without regard for the woman’s need to breathe, or care for her needs.”

Elissa looked shock and more than a little disturbed. “Oh.” She gasped and clutched at her throat. “You don’t think Alistair-” She asked looking a little scared now.

Leliana snorted with disappointment in herself. This was what she had hoped not to do, scare Elissa. “No, Alistair isn’t the type to want to hurt you in anyway. I just meant to ignore the boasting of the men, they were trying to impress each other. They were taking pleasure from having power over the woman, not an act of pleasure and love as it will be with Alistair. Those men would never try those types of things with a woman they truly loved.”

“Oh.” She sighed with relief, looking much more relieved.

“If you ever decided to try that, you might want to ask your cousin more about it.” Leliana told her carefully. “I never cared for it, but she might know some tricks I didn’t care to learn.”

Elissa’s expression showed how surprised she was by the suggestion. Her cousin Solona Amell was several years younger so it hadn’t occurred to her that she was much more experienced than Elissa herself, but then she recalled Solona admitting she’d been with two mages in the Tower.

“Anything else I should know?” Elissa asked much more confident than she had been once the conversation started.

Leliana put her arm around the girl’s shoulders. “Only how to kiss.” She said with a smile.

Elissa giggled but smiled. “Isn’t that instinctual?”

Leliana shook her head as her eyes dropped to Elissa’s now smiling lips for a moment. “Simple kisses yes, but there is one way to kiss that will make Alistair’s heart race that I could show you?”

Elissa’s brows rose as she blinked at her. “Show me?” She asked slightly breathless. “You could show me?” She asked a little surprised and curious.

Leliana pulled her slowly towards her and began to kiss her softly. Elissa kept her eyes open but let the bard slowly maneuver her mouth in the kiss, she felt and studied the way Leliana moved her mouth and then she felt her tongue along her lips and she opened her mouth to gasp only to feel Leliana’s tongue slip inside and stroke hers with light feathery strokes. Despite not being attracted to the pretty redhead, Elissa’s eyes fluttered closed and suddenly in her mind it wasn’t Leliana kissing her, it was Alistair and she felt herself melt into the sensation of the kiss.

She felt her tongue being gently being pulled into his mouth and suddenly she could taste a sweetness that had nothing to do with Alistair and that gave her a shock and caused her to pull back with a jerk. Her hand flew to her mouth.

“Oh!” She gasped. Leliana’s eyes were slightly glazed for a moment before she shook her head and cleared the look from her face.

“I’d say you have that down.” Leliana said with a simple sly smile. “You are very good at that for a novice. Alistair will be begging to take you to his tent if you kiss him like that.”

Elissa took another deep breath. “I’m sorry I never meant…”

Leliana laughed and threw her head back. “Don’t be, it was a nice kiss, but that’s all it was.”

Elissa gave her a shy smile. “At least I didn’t throw up on you.” She teased to lighten the mood.

Leliana began to laugh so hard she had to cross one of her arms over her stomach. “Poor Rory, how old were you again?”

Elissa laughed relieved that the kiss hadn’t made things strange between them. “Fourteen. We just wanted to see if there was anything there. I should have known better, I had felt sick all day and then when we kissed it felt so wrong and my stomach just took that moment to rebel and sent my lunch all over his boots.”

Leliana got up and held out her hand to help Elissa stand. She took it and kept her hand for a moment before pulling her into a sisterly hug. “Thank you for helping me.” She whispered.

“I hope I helped.” Leliana whispered back. She liked watching the two of them together, they were so very sweet and loving. Watching them dance around one another was like watching a romantic play when they were in camp together. It touched her deeply in a way that she had forgotten. Heartwarming and inspiring were the words that came to mind, and she was glad to have played even a small part in making it a story of love for the ages. Maybe she would try her hand once more at writing a bardic tale.

 


	7. Chapter 7

 

 

**13th of Kingsway**

**Just outside Kinloch Hold Docks.**

 

                The night before, they had been too battle worn to talk to the merchant who was waiting to speak to them at the merchant camp. The man, Levi, had understood and said he would gladly wait until morning to speak with the Wardens. Morrigan hadn't managed to run off the dwarven merchants with her abrasive attitude, mostly because she'd spent most of the day inside her tent reading some books she traded for with the other merchants. She took one look at the party and had wordlessly made dinner and helped Sandal collect the rabbits in the hunting snares they'd prepared before they left camp that morning. They had been very quiet but had answered most of Morrigan's questions regarding what had happened. Morrigan hadn't been very impressed, but her opinion of Circle mages wasn't high to begin with.

                 Morning light was not so welcome, to Elissa. Despite coming through the Tower without being too injured, she still had trouble sleeping. The Fade dream had replayed for part of the night, tormenting her dreams. Happy and about to kiss Alistair, he would suddenly change into the demon, who would attempt to kiss her with its forked tongue. She would tried to get away, running as fast and as far as possible in her dreamscape. Finally she woke during the struggle, shaking and shivering with fear; she had never had a dream like it before.

                  She had never understood much about the Fade, even with all of her letters and visits to Solona; it never really seemed to matter. Having been held in a demon's thrall, she began to understand the dangers Solona faced every night as she slept. She looked over and watched her sleeping cousin’s brow furrow and then smooth out as she slept. Elissa couldn't help but shiver once more and then silently thank Andraste that she was not a mage before she laid back and waited for the others to awaken.

                  When breakfast had been finished, Alistair supported Solona and together they prayed for her lost friends and teachers. Today she was actually crying and shaking with grief. He held her for several minutes while her sobs shook her so hard she nearly fell. More than ever Alistair was glad he’s made sure she Joined him in sending then dead off. She needed the chance to say good bye, and he needed the reassurance that they had been sent to the Maker’s side. While not overly devout Alistair still envied those who got sent on. As a warden there was no guarantee he’d get one. If the Calling came, he would die alone in the Deep Roads with no one to mourn him, and no one to light the torch to begin his journey to the Maker.

                Once Solona had finished crying and wiped her eyes they both joined a worried and saddened Elissa as she approached the merchant.

                 "Thank you for waiting to speak to us." she spoke politely. "I'm Elissa Cousland, and this is Solona Amell, and… Warden Alistair." Elissa was suddenly aware that she didn't even know if Alistair had a last name he used, she remembered his instance that he didn't use his father's name. She put the thought out of her mind for now and just smiled at the merchant. As it stood the merchant likely thought Alistair’s last name was Amell.

                The man bowed politely. "Thank you for agreeing to meet with me. I'm Levi Dryden."

                "Dryden?" Solona gasped. Elissa's shoulder's straightened and she became slightly wary of the man. Alistair looked at them strangely.

                "Duncan mentioned you." Alistair extended a hand to the man.

                Levi relaxed a little, despite the posture of the women. "Thank the Maker. I was worried he hadn't had time to think about the proposal." He looked around. "Isn't Duncan with you?" He asked, worry clouding his face.

                Elissa shook her head sadly. "Duncan died at Ostagar." It had only been a week, but it seemed odd this man didn't know about the battle and she grew instantly suspicious.

                Levi's obvious distress at the news seemed genuine. "I'm sorry for your loss, Wardens." He bowed his head to them. "I have just come from Orzammar. They are closing their borders to merchants now. Their king is extremely sick and they don't expect him to last much longer." He explained to them. "I hadn't heard any news from Ostagar as of yet." He looked saddened by the news and Solona’s posture relaxed.

                Elissa inwardly groaned for several reasons. Her foremost concern was the news about Orzammar. Dwarf politics make the Orlisian Game seem like a child's tea party in comparison. In Orlais it is common for first blood to be drawn as entertainment. In Orzammar it was common for bodies to disappear into the lava flows that heated the city when a political debate ended, and not always the loser of the debate disappeared but often anyone who agreed with them openly.

                It wouldn't surprise Elissa if the political structure of the Dwarves was the basis for the Antivan political system. Contested secessions always lead to civil wars no matter the race or political climate, just the scope of each war was different. Some were bloodless, others, a bloodbath; with Dwarves it was more a question of how much blood.

                There were other concerns around the outcome of Ostagar. Having no news about the remains of the army yet, Elissa wasn't even sure anyone had survived. If they had, were they going to be able to get by Loghain's blockades? The reputation of the Grey Wardens was being questioned at the worst possible time, and while Templar and Mage support was welcome, without the Dwarves, Elves and the Cousland Alliances the country was likely lost- first to Loghain, and then Darkspawn. Elissa was once more almost shaking with anger at the betrayer’s foolish paranoia.

                "Great, we need to head there soon." Elissa sighed, trying desperately to not show her emotions.

                Levi shifted his feet nervously. "Did Duncan tell you about what I had told him?"

                Alistair nodded slowly, and Elissa gestured for him to continue, to allow him to take the lead for once. "Duncan told me that Levi had found the passageway to Soldier's Peak."

                "The Warden Fortress?" Solona said in confusion looking towards the merchant for confirmation. "I wasn't aware it was lost. I thought it was destroyed in the rebellion."

                Levi looked uncomfortable but he nodded his head slowly before addressing Elissa directly. "As a noblewoman, I am sure you are aware of the circumstances surrounding the siege of the fortress, but the outcome isn’t as widely known."

                Elissa raised a brow, "My ancestor was a Grey Warden serving at Soldier's Peak. I am more aware of the circumstances than you might think."

Levi paled a little, nodded and bowed his head to her; Solona worried he might be sick from his nerves if Elissa didn't tone it down a little. 

                "The keep is still standing, Your Grace, and in fairly good repair considering the time that has past." He pressed on quickly, taking a deep breath to steady himself. "Duncan was considering taking the keep as a base of operations outside of the compound in Denerim."

                "Duncan did mention that." Alistair confirmed, his tone was light and pulled Elissa's attention from Levi. Once her gaze was elsewhere he seemed to regain a little color. "He wanted the Wardens to be more self-sufficient."

                She nodded thoughtfully. Suddenly some of the supplies Duncan had wished for made much more sense. Elissa had been wondering what Duncan could want with so much building timber and stone. She had assumed he wanted to build a small settlement somewhere but the Warden Keep was much more likely now that she thought on it. "What is the catch?" She asked skeptically. If he was asking for help rather than just offering to show them the way there had to be a catch.

                Levi looked even more uncomfortable. "The place seems haunted." He admitted in a whisper.

Solona hung her head. "The Veil must be very thin there."  As a Grey Warden, she has spent significantly more time with demons than Darkspawn. A trend that was going to continue, it seemed. She snorted silently to herself, wasn't there supposed to be a Blight going on? She wondered.

                "How thin would it need to be if non-mages can feel it?" Elissa looked at her and asked cautiously. The last thing she wanted, now that the Tower has behind them, was to compound the issues between Solona and herself by making her think she was disregarding her magical expertise. Solona seemed to be feeling less anger today, although she had glared at Elissa and Cara this morning as she woke up to find them talking by the fire. Having been too tired and upset the night before, she failed to notice that Elissa had not turned the blood mage over to Greagoir.

                "Thinner than the Tower." Solona spoke solemnly. "For there to be 'ghosts' walking about, there would need to be a tear or more likely a badly repaired rip that allows wisps to escape."

                Alistair groaned. "Didn't we just kill enough demons? And what are wisps?"

                Solona cast a wisp spell allowing one to begin to circle above her head. "This is a conjured wisp. It's more like a condensed cloud of the Fade on this side of the Veil."

                Alistair looked surprised and poked it. The wisp gave off a small electrical shock to his gauntleted hand before disappearing.

                 "Oww." He whined, making Elissa and Solona giggle.

                This broke the tension, somewhat. Inwardly, Alistair was pleased. Not only had he made Solona smile, but Elissa was looking at him with happiness that touched her eyes. It was a rare occurrence, and he noticed the only two who could get her to smile like that were himself and Rory. After what she had been through it became his personal goal to evoke this response from her as often as possible.

                "Wisps in the Fade are pre-spirits. They are an idea or memory and they tend to collect themselves near where they are created. Once they 'grow up', or become aware, then they become Spirits." Solona explained. She was using first introductory language since no one else here understood complex magical theory.

                "What about demons?" Alistair asked. "Can they become demons?"

                Solona nodded. "It depends on what created them and what emotions and experiences they absorb." She thought for a moment. "Ostagar would have created many wisps in the Fade, major battlefields often do.  The wisps there could become hope, valor, faith, even compassion. Or they could become fear, rage, or despair demons for example. It depends on what other emotions and experiences they encounter."

                "So the demons we've fought were practice it would seem." Elissa shook her head and sighed. "Alright Levi, show me on the map where Soldier's Peak is and how we get there."

                Levi explained, during the siege the Grey Wardens closed off the main roads to the keep, collapsing the two small caves they passed through. There was a small winding route that would take a full day of walking to navigate from the closest access point. Horses and small wagons could be pulled through it, although it would be hard going from about the halfway up.

                The keep itself stood at the top of a mountain that looked over the Waking Sea. At one time, the Keep had had access to a dock for large ships with large caverns for wagons to pass through the mountain between them. Levi didn't know if the majority of those tunnels still existed or not.

                "We have a few things to look into before it might even be possible for us to head in the direction of Denerim." Elissa warned him. "When we head in that direction we will contact you."

                Levi nodded excitedly. "Thank you. I can wait for you here, if you like?" He looked towards the Tower.

                Solona nodded slowly. "That makes the most sense. It's on the way no matter which side of the lake we come around if we use the northern route towards Denerim."

                Elissa nodded her agreement. "Alistair?" She asked.

                "I'm ok with whatever you decide Elissa." He said quickly. He'd much rather they headed to Redcliffe, while his relationship with the Arl was not the best, he was still the only noble he knew well enough to tell the truth to and have any hope of aid being given.

                 Templar tactics and training revolved around hunting mages, not anything like they were facing now and he was unsure how to even consider moving forward. Every idea he had revolved around finding someone else to tell him what to do. It was all he'd ever known. Supporting Elissa felt natural; more natural than anything else he'd ever done, even following Duncan. It wasn't blind loyalty. He did question her tactics, but she knew more about what was happening and she had a better understanding of how the nobles were going to respond. He also couldn't fault her goals. Killing the Archdemon and defeating the Blight was her number one concern right now and while he preferred that they didn't need the help of blood mages and apostates, he knew they really couldn't be turning anyone away.

                "We could be several weeks, possibly months." She warned Levi but he seemed unconcerned.

                "It's no trouble for me, Your Grace. With Orzammar closed, most of my business can be conducted from here. The Tower could use my skills for a while it sounds like, anyway. My family has waited over two hundred years to clear our names, a few more months won't matter.” He added bashfully. “Also, with the Blight it might be best to stay in the north."

 

                 It was late that morning when they finally broke camp, packed their gear and Bodhan’s Merchant caravan and headed down the backside of Lake Calanhad toward Redcliffe. Elissa hoped that Loghain would be watching the roads leading to Denerim and not the roads leading to Orzammar, especially if the news of the Dwarves closing their doors was spreading. Still, she changed out of her Warden Cloak and had Alistair do the same, just to be safe. Solona stayed in her strange Fade Metal Plate Mail. At first glance they looked like a heavily armored caravan, and in these times that would be expected. Only Sten looked out of place. Qunari were rare this far south, at least he didn't have horns. Without them and the right cloak someone would have to get close to them to notice his distinctive armor.

                Elissa shook her head as she considered each of their companions. Conversations with the Qunari warrior were annoyingly circular. He was strangely confused and annoyed with the fact that she was a female and a warrior. This morning she had caught him looking around near the edge of the imperial highway for something. The ground looked like it had seen some Darkspawn blood corrupting the soil in places. Sten had admitted that he was looking for his sword. It was some kind of special sword that he couldn't return home without. They had managed to get some info from nearby scavengers regarding the possible location of the sword, of course it had to be Orzammar that the suspected man had headed towards. Elissa had promised Sten they would try and track it down.

                Her nightly rounds had some other interesting results. Leliana was into fashion in a way Elissa never had been, but it was relaxing to talk about something not related to killing and death, even if it was only for a few minutes. Her stories about her love of shoes and especially the pair of cyan blue high heeled ankle boots with white satin bows that had met their end as a chew toy for the kitchen mouser and one of the estate's hunting dogs had been hilarious. The bard also had some wonderful stories, some she had heard before and others with little twists that likely came from orally retelling the stories. Leliana was very gifted and her ability to draw one into the story she was telling was a much needed distraction.

                Rory, as always, was a delight to talk to. Still haunted, he wasn’t ready to talk about what he had seen, and despite Elissa’s extreme curiosity and concern for who may have escaped, she respected his need to grieve, first. She too was haunted and unprepared to find out who might have lived and who had died for certain. Instead, they spoke mostly of old times, and he teased her mercilessly about her crush on Alistair, although they both suspected it was much more than a crush. Rory asked a lot of questions about Solona and Alistair and the Grey Wardens in general. She answered everything she could and he had accepted the idea of becoming one, even with the drawbacks. Like her, his sense of duty out-weighed his desires. He had made his choice in Highever, and he planned to honor it.

                Morrigan was beginning to accept that Elissa and Solona did not have any prejudices against her for being an apostate, or for the different types of magic she could wield. Solona had suggested they train together. She could teach Morrigan some minor healing and in turn, could teach her some glyphs, to start with. She also resumed her snarky comments toward Alistair, again. Elissa had moved to intervene a few times, but Solona had explained her agreement with Morrigan.

                Solona's assurances that Morrigan’s comments were much nicer than before Elissa had joined them had given her a strong desire to break her shield over the arrogant mage’s head. It also cemented Elissa's opinion of the apostate as someone she would never trust. Someone so heartless could not be loyal to anyone but themselves, and she’d had enough of betrayals to last a lifetime. Still, she left Morrigan to Solona as the two seemed to have an understanding. Morrigan, for her part, seemed to be avoiding Elissa as much as she did Alistair in camp, going so far as to set up her camp on the outskirts of the group while Elissa set-up in the center of the clearing they chose to be their campsite.

                Wynne hadn't had much to say yet. Like the rest of them she had been extremely tired. She was keeping up well with them so far today. Unlike Solona she had been out of the Tower before and knew how to ride. Greagoir had ordered that Wynne and Cara be given a horse each for their use from the stables in Kinloch Hold, saving Elissa the expense of having to buy them. For an older woman she seemed to be a fairly good shape physically, which was surprising for a mage. Being locked up in the Tower, even with the many flights of stairs, didn't give the mages much chances to exercise their bodies.

                Cara was quiet as well, she did not know how to ride, and she was being helped by Rory, who was also helping Solona and Morrigan as they became more accustomed to riding. Solona was trying to avoid having anything to do with the blood mage, and Wynne was watching Cara carefully, as if she expected the girl to ride off now that she was out of the Tower. Unlike Wynne, Cara was struggling a little, but Leliana was staying near her and talking with her to help ease the woman into the group and being outdoors. Cara often looked a little overwhelmed when Leliana spoke of fashion.

                The dogs had been doing a weird dance last night. Flynn usually slept in front of the tent she and Solona shared, but the new dog had wanted that spot too. They finally reached some type of agreement, one would guard the tent and the other would accompany the person on watch and finally they had shared the tent flap opening by being nose-to-nose in front of it. It had been amusing to watch them figure it out. Solona named the new female dog Adele. She said it meant noble. Alistair had joked that Solona was calling Elissa a bitch by naming her that. Elissa had smacked him across the back of the head for the comment, and had laughed as he pretended it hurt.

                Solona was hiding something from her, but Elissa wasn't worried about that yet. She found something in the Tower and was studying it in their tent last night and tried to hide it when Elissa had entered. Whatever it was, she hoped Solona would bring it to her when she was ready.

                Elissa also has concerns about how focused Solona had been on finding Cullen in the Tower, rather than seeking out friends or colleagues. She was unsure of why it bothered her. She hadn't thought Solona was that attached to the Templar when she first left the Tower. Their goodbye had a finality to it, and was apparently subdued when compared to her single-minded focus during their charge. Elissa was worried, but willing to wait for her to be ready to talk. Seeing her grieve this morning had been a bit of a relief.

                Maker knew they were all grieving in some manner. Such a dysfunctional and diverse group.

                Then there was Alistair. Just thinking his name had her looking over at the man riding beside her. Their conversations had been enlightening. From his description, the Grey Wardens idea of hazing included drinking contests (to teach about the metabolism changes), letting the recruits figure out the appetite changes by giving them smaller rations and making them feel the hunger, and taking them to whorehouses to show the benefits of being a Warden. Alistair's blush as he told her about that night in Denerim at the Pearl had been hilarious, for her at least. He'd left the brothel rather than go through with that that bit of initiation. He also unintentionally admitted to being a virgin, something that didn't really surprise Elissa. She'd doubled over laughing when he'd tried to be evasive and said something about licking a lamppost in winter. She teased him back by saying she wasn't aware he preferred men. He choked and stammered, ‘I like women very much, thank you.’

                To someone who knew the ways of courtly flirting, it was painfully obvious that he shared an attraction with her. She knew she liked him for who he was; a man who had made her laugh even when she wasn't sure she even knew how to anymore, made her burdens feel lighter even as he looked to her to lead, a man who made her heart race as if she'd been pitched into battle by merely looking at him.

                She had absolutely no doubts she was falling in love with "Alistair", not the "Royal Bastard Alistair Therein". Someone somewhere was going to assume her being with him was a political ploy to quiet anybody who would want the heir of Calenhad on the throne, regardless of his Grey Warden status due to the nine hundred year history of Calenhad’s line. She also needed to know that this attraction wasn't just a passing thing for him. She couldn't afford to get her heart broken, she had already lost too much.

                Alistair, for all his witty sarcastic comments was a very honest person, and that worried her. The nobles would accept him to a degree, especially if they could use him. She was deeply concerned about this, it was also the only reason she stayed her hand against Morrigan.

                He would need to be tempered, like a sword. To harden him, not break or weaken him. The idea of manipulating him didn't sit well with her, it felt too much like he needed to be changed to be worthy of her, when in fact she felt the opposite. He was already too good for what she would be putting him through if he decided he wanted a relationship with her. She was glad that he was distracted while she struggled with these thoughts. He still had her ancestral journal, when he was finished he knew he needed to pass it to Rory, although at this point she wasn't sure if there was anything in there Rory didn't already know.

                 Elissa’s father had once respected Arl Eamon very much, but that regard had waned after his marriage to Isolde; his concern had become more and more about his position rather than his Arling. What concerned Elissa most was the treatment Alistair had alluded to when he lived in Redcliffe, and it troubled her how accepting Alistair was of this mistreatment. It didn't surprise her to know Isolde was capable of being cruel to a child to the degree that she had been cruel toward Alistair. She knew nobles often mistreated not only their servants, but the bastards who were discarded. Bastard children were sometimes singled out for abuse by the other servants as well as the nobles. Their excuse was that it kept them humble. In Alistair's case, Isolde’s ire likely had more to do with her inability to conceive. In fourteen years of marriage she had only been pregnant once, being fortunate enough to carry her son Conner to term. Elissa wasn't sure she could be objective when they had to go there.

                Over the next few days they had managed to pass by quite a few refugees fleeing from the south heading toward West Hill. That night they had come across a merchant heading north fleeing from Honnleath. He had a golem control rod and command word; apparently the village had a locally famous statue in the center of town that was actually this golem. The merchant had given it to them for free. He had said that they were welcome to it since it was behind enemy lines. He also told them that Loghain's men were still patrolling around Redcliffe looking for the missing Grey Wardens.

                 It was the second day on the road when they heard the news. The Darkspawn had taken Lothering. Anyone left behind was presumed dead.

               

**16th of Kingsway**

**Crossroads to Redcliffe and Honnleath**

                The past few days had been interesting. They heard a variety of rumors from the refugees fleeing north and west. Everything from how the Archdemon had been at Ostagar and personally killed the King, the Grey Wardens had killed everyone before joining the Darkspawn, a dragon took revenge on the Darkspawn and burned a large number of the Horde with its flaming breath.  The most important thing they heard was that the roads nearer to Redcliffe were safest because Loghain's men were still in the area.

                In the past few hours, they had managed to save three groups of refugees from small scouting sized parties of Darkspawn. The groups were likely following the refugees and not actual scouting parties, mostly Genlocks and Hurlocks. The refugees had been very grateful and promised to keep the location of the Grey Wardens quiet. The group had laughed at that later, knowing full well that by the end of the week everyone in Ferelden would have heard the rumor that the new Warden Commander was none other than Her Grace, the Teyrnessa Elissa Cousland, and she had seven wardens and two mabari with her.

                 Elissa let Alistair lead the charge against the Darkspawn and had been careful to keep her shield a little higher than she normally would. It helped keep the Darkspawn blood off of her face, and she doubled her protection by keeping her lower face under her helm. Solona and Wynne had been quick to help the group wash any blood from their faces and away from any wounds after each battle. They had just finished cleaning up the third time when Elissa pulled Alistair and Solona aside.

                Elissa looked at Alistair. "I know you think Redcliffe is the best chance we have..." She began. Alistair looked like he was about to object but Elissa held up her hand and he waited, obviously disgruntled. "I do agree with you in the long run."

                "Huh, well that’s something, at least." He mumbled, somewhat glad he was being listened to. It was still something he wasn't used to. Even Duncan didn’t hold his opinions as high as Elissa seemed to, or at least she made him feel like she did.

                 "I just think we are going to walk into more trouble than we need to, if we go right now." Alistair wanted to object, he really did, but he was beginning to understand Elissa had reasons for all of her choices, and he was willing to hear them before he objected openly.

                  "What do you suggest we do then?" Solona asked, unlike Alistair she wasn't as sure about what was happening around them. Her concentration was not centered on listening to everything everyone said, rather, it was more on not falling off her horse.

                  Elissa smiled at them. "We need allies, and to kill some time. The Banns and the Arls are going to be screaming for the 'Regent' to do something about the Darkspawn threat now that they've overrun Lothering. Loghain has been collecting troops, but you can bet with Cailan's death, Eamon is not going to release his troops to him. Redcliffe is too close to Lothering for Loghain to even think he could get away with conscripting them to do anything else but protect this area. We just need to give it a few more days, a week, maybe a month at most and then we should be able to get into Redcliffe without facing too much opposition from Loghain's army. He'll be too busy worrying about the Banns rejecting him and the beginning of the Civil War that Cailan was hoping to avoid."

                "And if that's not enough time, or the Banns don't rebel?" Alistair asked.

                 "Believe me, they will. Loghain is not popular among the nobles. Neither is Anora." Elissa said with a smirk.

                  Elissa didn't like Anora on a personal level, but had no issues with her on a political level. Elissa really didn't like most nobles, period. She found most of them to be spoiled and self-centered. That was one lesson her father had ground into Fergus and herself; being noble-born was a privilege, not a right. 'We serve the people dependent on us, they don't have to serve us. It's a give and take relationship. Nobles protect and serve the people of their lands, and the protected work the land to feed the protectors. In the long run, the farmers ruled Ferelden, not the Arls or Teyrns, because without food there is no Ferelden', she knew that lesson verbatim. Loghain and Anora should have known that, coming from commoner background, instead they acted as if they were entitled due to being lifted into the Nobility.

                Solona spoke up and offered her opinion. "We should head to Orzammar." She said with some conviction. "They are closed to merchants, but their doors are never closed to Grey Wardens."

                Elissa nodded and smiled.  It was good to see them both beginning to speak up."It might be easier to go now and deal with a dying king then to wait and possibly get caught in the middle of a succession war. Dwarves are very difficult when it comes to politics."

                "Why did we waste two days coming down to the southern side of the lake if we aren't going to Redcliffe?" Alistair looked frustrated.

                Elissa sighed and tucked her loose hair behind her ear, it was a tick that betrayed how nervous she was. She wasn't as confident as she was pretending to be, but this was two of the three people she trusted most and decided to be wholly truthful. "Honestly, I was hoping to gather intelligence on Loghain's movements, and to see how far the Darkspawn have gotten." She looked back at the party. "I also wanted a chance to see how the group was going to fight together."

                "We did well at the Tower." Alistair said proudly. "I was very impressed with how well we all did."

                Elissa nodded and smiled at him. She was proud of them all too. "I agree, however we have two mages that weren't with us then that are working with us now. Both are very impressive with different types of magic. I needed to see how they could be worked into our little army."

                Solona nodded. "Both are good at finding ways to integrate themselves, although Morrigan likes to bring her spells in a little too close for comfort at times. Cara is surprisingly more cautious with her ice and earth spells, and I have yet to see her use actual blood magic."

                "I think Morrigan likes brushing her fire spells against my armor." He grumbled shooting a dirty look back toward the camp and glaring at the two mages who were talking together.

                "Rory isn't used to including Mages and Templars into his tactics, and I'll admit he's better at tactics for groups of our size than I am." Elissa grumbled, frustrated. It was the one thing that she had never been able to beat him at. She'd worked ready hard to perfect her small group tactics, but she never took all the terrain into account the way he seemed to naturally. In a cavern she could handle the limited environment, but in the open she fell short. "Perhaps you can help him with that, Solona?" Solona nodded sharply. It felt good to be trusting them and from Solona's smile she was feeling better, too. Elissa really needed a chance to talk to her later. "And Alistair if you could give him a sense of range and timing involved in using your templar skills." She made a mental note to include Rory in these discussions from now on. He would be a Grey Warden as soon as Elissa figured out the measurements for the potion component of the ritual. Cara could wait to see if she survived, hopefully by then Solona and Alistair would be more open to her being one of them.

                "Sure." He nodded happily. They both seemed more confident. Baby steps, and soon they'd be able to lead themselves. Explaining everything had the added bonus of making them both see the things they needed to notice before making the tough calls. And Elissa knew when she was being honest with herself that she'd been in leadership positions too long to take orders from a green commander, so hopefully she would be in charge until the Landsmeet but one of them would be ready to take over from there.

                Elissa smiled back at both. "I wish I could learn those skills too. I'd feel better if we had a second person who could neutralize emissaries. Maybe Rory as well." She said, musing.

                "Well I had to promise the Grand Cleric I would not teach others how to use the skills." He stammered and looked uncomfortable.

                Elissa shook her head but kept smiling. "It was a passing thought, Alistair. We don't have a steady supply of Lyrium to teach us to use the skills right now anyway." She shrugged the thought off although she really did want to have the skills.

                "You don't need it." He blurted out, he looked a little surprised he'd blurted that out but he cleared his throat and kept talking. "They teach us the basics in training but you aren't suppose to use the skills until you start the Lyrium." He blushed bashfully. "I, umm, cheated."

                Elissa gasped, eyes widening. Solona, too, was shocked and gaped at Alistair. "You don't need Lyrium to unlock the skills and use them?"

                "Yeah, personally I don't know why the Chantry insist they need the Lyrium first. I wasn't the only one who tried the skills before taking the Lyrium." He admitted, he fidgeted with his fingers staring at his feet. "I was the best at smiting without it though." He admitted, his face lit up a bright red.

                Solona was floored. "But Lyrium is addictive! Why would they force them to take it every day if they don't need it?" She asked looking back and forth between the two. "It slowly destroys their minds in time."

                Alistair shrugged uncomfortably. "Maybe it makes the smite more powerful, or easier to conjure. I don't know." He said looking at his feet. "I never took Lyrium, so I just don't know."

                "Ok, let's table that discussion for another time." Elissa said quietly. The implications of the Chantry having an army of trained soldier's in every nation on Thedas that required a substance they had a monopoly on was too big to focus on right now. "Although, if you are willing, I'd still like to learn. I won't force it." She said holding up her hand as he looked uncomfortable with the idea. "Just think about it and if you decided to teach me, great, if not I won't be mad, ok?"

                Alistair looked uncomfortable, but thoughtful. "I'll think about it."

                "Ok." She started to turn away but looked at him sharply. "You know I never thought about that, but do you need lyrium?"

                He shook his head. "No, Duncan conscripted me before my first dose so I've never had any."

                "Good, I'm glad." She said with a smile and then turned her attention back to the map in front of her. "I think since we are here we should try and pick up this golem. We can also see how far the Horde has travelled and how many are scouting. If the town is over run then they are branching out instead of sitting and waiting for the Archdemon. If not, then hopefully we have sometime before the Horde makes its first invasion push. Right now they have a foothold with Lothering. Hopefully they are fully extended for now." She said as she pointed out the areas on the map as she spoke.

                They agreed and headed back to tell everyone else their next step.

 

                The village of Honnleath had been overrun by Darkspawn but not in overwhelming numbers, nor was it sacked and burned the way Lothering was being described by survivors, which suggested scouting groups and not expansion. It also didn't surprise the group when the command words did not activate the golem. Searching the town they came across the remaining townsfolk hidden behind a magical barrier. The most powerful of the Darkspawn in the area were prowling outside of it. Elissa, Rory and Alistair made quick work of them. The emissaries were close enough together that Alistair had been able to drain them both of mana at once while Solona and Wynne had stepped back out of range. A few winter's grasps and arcane bolts were all the help they could offer in the enclosed room. They saved their mana to help heal everyone after the battle.

                Once the people were convinced to evacuate the town and a promise to release the command words for the golem in return for saving their lives, they explained a child had run down a magical trap infested basement that belonged to the dead, apostate grandfather of the little girl. Elissa had been about ready to scream with frustration with the stupidity of not blocking the doorway.

                  Her temper once again began to get the better of her. Solona took pity on Elissa and stepped forward, offering to gather the child. She had only taken Sten, Rory and Leliana with her while Wynne, Alistair, Cara, Elissa and the dogs had stayed up to help the people outside and to organize food and some wagons to help people move north out of the Darkspawn's path. They had all been in the basement for several days without food and very little water. They were all a little weak, and some of them had needed help just to get outside.

                It took a little over an hour before Solona and the rest returned with Rory carrying the weakened little girl. Solona now also looked furious. Her grumbling about having to deal with damn demons was rather telling, and Elissa knew she would get the details later. Wilhelm, the girl's father, was quick to give the information needed to release 'Shale' once his daughter was safe. Leliana looked glowingly at the pair before she walked over to hand a helm and ring over to Elissa, both items were quite powerful, radiating magical protection.

                "You sure you're alright, Sole?" Alistair asked as he noticed she was still grumbling and kicking stones near a wagon full of refugees in front of the local chantry.

                "I hate demons!" She snarled loudly. "They had a demon locked up in the basement! In a bloody cat! A cat!" She let out a half scream, half growl. "Only mages can be possessed." She snarled sarcastically quoting templar doctrine.

                Alistair moved quickly to her side and tried to calm her down. She turned towards him and pushed him lightly, not intending to hurt him, just to let go of some pent up energy. What she really wanted to do was throw some fireballs at a cliff.

                "A damn Desire Demon!" She yelled as she continued to pace, her movements were quick and erratic. A few of the people nearby gasped and quickly moved back from the extremely agitated and heavily armored woman. "In a damn cat!"

                Alistair winced in understanding of why she was so upset. "Oh." He really didn't know what to say to that. "Why would they do that?" He wondered.

                Solona glared at him. "How in the Void should I know?"

                He shrugged uncomfortably. "You know more about magic and demons than I do."

                Solona sighed as she realized who she was talking to. Alistair never would ask a question like that of her for a malicious reason."I guess I do," she sighed as she let her anger go, "but not that much about why. I know more about resisting them than about the uses for them. Bonding them and things I do know, but uses for them is more Cara's expertise than mine."

                One of the woman who had been nearby approached them. "Hello..." She spoke hesitantly. She seemed wary of interrupting them but obviously wanted to ask questions.

                They both turned to her. "Can I help you ....?” Alistair trailed off waiting for the woman to introduce herself.

                "Mia," She said with a blush as she took in Alistair's handsome face. "Did you say there was a demon in Wilhelm's basement?" She asked fearfully.

                Alistair nodded with an air of authority Solona hadn't seen before. "Yes, Solona here killed it. It will not be a problem any longer." He said formally to the woman, he'd slipped back into the stance of the Templar. Solona snorted and just shook her head. You could take the boy out of the Chantry, she laughed to herself.

                Mia turned to her and smiled gratefully. "Thank you, may the Maker bless you both, Templars."

                Solona nearly choked in shock and began to cough. Alistair was no better but he was laughing at her while patting her back, trying to help Solona regain her breath, but just making it harder to recover as he accidently pounded on her back too hard in his mirth. "We're Grey Wardens ma'am, not Templars." He told her.  Solona used the moment to move away from her and scowled at him. "I used to be, but Sole is a mage."

                Mia covered her mouth as she gasped. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't... I just thought warriors who battle demons and rescue villages would be Templars."

                Solona waved her apology away. "No offense was taken." She assured the woman.

                "We aren't exactly announcing ourselves." Alistair explained as he moved his cloak aside so she could see the heraldry on his chest.

                Mia nodded solemnly as she looked at the chest plate. "We heard the rumors about the Wardens. Obviously they are wrong. Thank you for everything. If there is anything we can do for you all please come and see us in South Reach once we get resettled."

                Solona smiled at the woman, although she wanted to get away from the uncomfortable conversation. "Do you have family there?"

                Mia nodded. "Yes, we have a cousin and his family, and my brother is serving at the Tower at Kinloch Hold."

                Solona winced and backed away. "I have a few things to look into." She said before she turned and all but fled.

                Mia turned to Alistair with nearly perfectly round eyes filled with regret. "I offended her this time, didn't I?"

                He sighed heavily and shook his head. "The Tower was recently over run by blood mages and demons. We helped clear it and saved as many as we could, including a Templar she was in love with. He was tortured by a Desire Demon and now can't stand to even look at her. She also lost quite a few life-long friends and teachers."

                Mia began to sob. "Do you know who survived...?”

                Alistair looked pained to be giving this woman bad news. He'd never had to deliver news of this magnitude before. "A few, most of the Mages and Templars were killed."

                "My brother's name is Cullen Rutherford." Mia sobbed openly. "Please, if you know?"

                Alistair was grateful Solona moved away. "He's fine." He assured her with a grim smile as he lightly patted the woman on the shoulder. "He was in the Tower, but we managed to save him. He'll need some time, but he'll be fine."

                The woman threw herself at him and began to cry on his chest. "Thank you, thank you..." She chanted.

                He turned frightened eyes around and saw two more teenagers looking on with relief and concern. "Mia?" The boy of about sixteen called.

                "Branson, Rosalie!" She turned and wiped her eyes. "This man was just giving me some good news about Cullen." She turned back to Alistair. "Thank you again. I don't know what we'd have done if we heard about the Tower before we could have known about him surviving."

                "You owe Sole the most, she saved the rest of us and lead us through the Tower so we could get to him, and then to finish off the rest of the demons and such. I wouldn't say a word to her about this right now though." He said with sad eyes as he looked for her among the crowd. She was easy to spot in her shiny armor.

                Mia sobbed once more but this time she looked toward where Solona was now staring at the golem in the square and making an obvious effort to seem unaffected by the people around her. "The Templar she was in love with was Cullen, wasn't it?"

                Alistair cleared his throat. "I think I've said too much as it is."

                Mia nodded in understanding. "She's looks to be about Cullen's age, about seventeen, eighteen, right?" Alistair nodded in surprise at the observation of the young woman who couldn't be much older than twenty herself. "Too damn young to be burdened like this!" she said with pity, "And I know Cullen was the youngest Templar there, he was proud of it. And he wrote about liking the work and his charges, but an older sister can tell. He liked someone there, a mage from the way he wrote, but he knew it wasn't allowed." She looked sadly at Solona, feeling awe for the obviously young mage. "I can't thank you enough for everything, and when she is ready please pass on our gratitude. Was he hurt by the demon?"

                Alistair nodded sadly. "He'll be fine though. He'll just need time to get through the pain of seeing so many of his friends killed, and the images the demons put in his head."

                Mia got a stern look on her face. "I know my brother and if he hurt that girl badly he likely was not himself, but I am still going to make sure he sends her an appropriate thank you. Especially as she was the reason you all came through it alive and she saved his life and now ours as well."

                Alistair grinned at the fierce woman. He suddenly felt bad for Cullen, his sister looked to be a force of nature. "You might want to go easy on him. He really did have a bad go of it. And she knows that." He told her. Mia smiled sadly with tears in her eyes. "And I will tell her when she's ready. Have a safe journey." He stopped and thought about the map they'd looked at only last night before giving her some added advice. "You'll have to go north around the lake to get to South Reach safely."

                She nodded and smiled sadly once more at him. "We will, and we will pass on the truth about the Grey Wardens as we do."

 


	8. Chapter 8

**14 th of Kingsway**

**Honneleath Village**

Solona stayed near the statue as the refugees packed up and left. It hadn't taken as long as the party had thought it would. It seemed the Darkspawn had interrupted their evacuations so most people were already packed it was more a matter of loading the wagons and rounding up the oxen to pull them. In less than three hours the town stood empty except for the group and the dead Darkspawn. Elissa joined her just before the rest gathered. "What was that about earlier, with the woman?"

                "Nothing." She said with a shake of her head. She returned to staring intently at the golem. Adele walked up and tried to gain her attention by rubbing her head against Solona's hand. The mage turned her head down to look at her and gave the dog a small smile while scratching behind her ears the way the dog loved. Adele was good at pulling her out of her thoughts. 

                They turned back to the statue. By now the others had gathered and the other two mages come forward. "Are you sure about this?" Wynne asks. "It could be dangerous."

                Elissa sighed and shook her head. "Not really, but we don't really have anything to lose, and it is why we came here. Maker knows we need all the help we can get and if it can help we'd be stupid to leave it behind. Armies of Golems had fought for the Dwarves for centuries before they lost the knowledge on how to make them and began to lose ground in the Deep Roads."

                Rory raised a brow. "You might not think you have much to lose, but fighting a mad rock golem isn't something I'm looking forward to." He said dryly causing the group to chuckle.

                "I'm with him on this one." Alistair said softly once he stopped laughing.

                Elissa glared playfully at both men. "Time for opinions on the matter have already closed."

                Solona snorted. "And when exactly should we have asked you about it?"

                "How about any time before we got here, or hey anytime this afternoon after we saved everyone?" Elissa teasingly suggested.

                "If we are going to do this perhaps it would be best to get this done while we still have daylight." Wynne suggested, she was smiling slightly at the banter. She was glad to hear sound reasoning behind Elissa's choices, especially when she disagreed with her. "We have only two hours before the sun will begin to set. Camp is still a half hour away on foot." Elissa smiled, she knew Bodahn would likely be busy for a while as the refugees passed their campsite.

                Elissa nodded. "Let's try this. One golem verses all of us seems like an acceptable risk."

Solona stepped forward with the control rod and called out the activation phrase, Elissa stepped forward to cover her. They waited. It took about ten seconds before the golem moved. The sound was loud as the stone protested against the movement, and the runes on its collar began to glow.

                "I knew the day would come when someone would find the control rod." It looked down at Solona with disgust. "Another mage, how disappointing." Its voice was deep and rough, but with a smooth accent, not at all what Elissa or Solona had been expecting.

                "I understand your name to be Shale." Solona said, disregarding the golem's dislike for mages. "I am the Grey Warden Solona."

                "A Grey Warden, is it?" Shale responded as it looked down at the two women. "I can see this one is." Shale pointed to Elissa, "and that one." She pointed to Alistair. “And what of the rest?"

                The conversation was interesting, to say the least. Shale introduced herself, and told them a little about herself, at least what little she could remember. Time standing still for at nearly a century had made her a bit forgetful, it seemed. It was obvious that while Shale seemed to find them inferior, travelling with them to defeat Darkspawn was something she was interested in doing. It wasn't as if she could be forced to not follow them since the control rod was faulty, so Elissa welcomed her whole heartedly.

                The group had a mixed reaction to Shale stomping the chicken as they left the village.

                "Shale, while I can understand your vendetta against birds considering all you've had to endure." She paused for a moment to shudder at the idea of being frozen that long, "Killing of birds in such a matter is wasteful." She explained to the expressionless golem. "If you must kill every bird you see please refrain from crushing the birds so the bones are impossible to remove."

"You would actually consume those foul things?" While her expressions were hard to distinguish from each other, her tone was one of astonishment that anyone would consider consuming such a thing.

                Elissa wasn't sure if the pun was intentional but the rest of the party was still looking either amused or disturbed. "Yes, unfortunately we require the flesh of animals and such several times a day. If you must kill them, stun them or break their necks, but do not stomp them, please."

                Shale was disgusted but understood and instead broke the necks of several chickens to bring back with them to camp, happily humming to herself.  Rory and Alistair had shook their heads and travelled in the back of the group. Elissa was unconcerned with their wariness because halfway back they were laughing and joking with each other.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**20 th of Kingsway**

**Evening Camp just outside of Honnleath.**

                Back at camp Elissa pulled Solona aside. "What is bothering you since this afternoon? Was it the demon?" She allowed her concern to show.

                Solona shook her head but gave Elissa a hug. "Thank you but this thing has been bothering me longer than that."

                Elissa bit her lip to stop from interrogating her and instead held back to a simple question. "What is it?

                Solona looked confused and frustrated. Her hand shaking and her fingers began braiding together and then pulling apart and then braiding once more. "Flemeth said to not cast aside any allies because we'd never know when one would need to _become_ an Amell." She explained as she stared towards the camp. "And you've been doing that."

                Looking back towards the camp Elissa nodded. "But all the recruits have been female, except Sten and Rory."

                Solona nodded, looking frustrated. "That's not what is bugging me. She also told me to not turn aside anyone who could be useful later. We need all the help we can get, so while I might not like everyone we've picked up I agree with bringing them along. Or she could have been trying to make us bring Morrigan along, who knows with that one?" her frustration mounted.

                "But something is bugging you?" She asked openly, trying to prod her into telling her what was going on.

                "It's Cullen and the prophecy." She said with irritation. "I can't help but feel we made a mistake leaving him behind when connections to him keeping coming up, but at the same time I don't think we did." Solona started to pace, bleeding off her annoyance. Elissa watched her with apprehension. "It feels like he's where he needs to be, but he still has something to do with all this!" She gestured widely as she looked back at the camp and then scratched at the back of her head. "It's like an itch that won't go away ever since I spoke to Flemeth. And it also has me wondering about who the other two Amells are. There are several possibilities and I'd have to check birth records to know more... but I know my branch, and yours, but I am unsure about the other two lines."

                Elissa pondered her cousin’s words. It was true, everywhere they had gone there had been a connection to Cullen, but that was likely a coincidence and she was willing to brush him off. She didn't feel that connection Solona felt towards Cullen, although she did feel that way towards Solona and Alistair.  She reviewed what they knew about him. He lived in the Tower, so of course they were going to run into him there. Honnleath was his hometown it would seem, so the connection to him here was again, while not expected, was explainable.

                "I'm not so sure." She held up her hand as Solona made to protest. "I'll personally see to it that if we run into him, or a connection to him is made again that we re-visit this conversation and possibly recruit him then, alright? But right now it wouldn't be wise, he needs time to recover." She explained. "Besides he's not a Rogue so he can't be connected to the prophecy."

                Solona nodded and sighed. "It's just strange, this feeling I have." she said once again looking towards the group. She'd forgotten her... what was it, a partner, mate... whatever it was... hers was a rogue, not a warrior. Cullen wasn't hers.

                "That itching feeling is telling you what, exactly?" Elissa asked, distracting Solona from her thoughts. Elissa wasn't sure what the feeling was, but Solona understood magic and the prophecy better than she ever could or would. She just wasn't sure Solona was being objective when it came to the young Templar.

                She shook her head and took several deep breaths and accepted the truth in what she was feeling. It made her sad but there was a feeling of relief in accepting it too. "Truthfully?" She looked at Elissa intently.  "That his part is over for now, or at least his connection to me and our situation." Elissa gave her a sympathetic smile so Solona continued. "But Flemeth's words are still ringing in my mind when his name is mentioned. It's... strange."

                "Kind of like an itch that can't be reached?" Elissa asked, trying to understand what she was saying.

                Solona nodded. "Yeah, but it's in my mind." She located Alistair in the camp and watched as he began caring for his sword while talking to Rory by the fire. "When are you going to tell Alistair about his part in the prophecy? He is going to be the King, right?" She asked with a hint of a smile.

                It was Elissa's turn to be uncomfortable. "I was going to wait until after I know for certain that I'm the Queen and he's actually ready to be the King, or at least Prince-Consort since he can't legally be a King as a Warden." She shifted uncomfortably.

                Solona was confused and whispered. "But we already know you are going to be the Queen! Thedas is being threatened by a Blight, the likes of which is being fought by at the moment by two Amells! If that isn't a sign that the prophecy is in play, I don't know what would be." She said emphatically.

                "I agree about the prophecy actually beginning. But it's not that simple, Sole." She looked longingly at Alistair before refocusing on Solona. "Not the relationship part." She whispered, her insecurities surfacing. "Alistair was raised to never want, or expect to be King, or even a noble. I don't want him to think that I only want him for political reasons. If I do this, I want him to be with me because he actually wants me, not because it's a political power play that he gets sucked into or because a prophecy says I need him."

                Solona laughed softly but hugged her reassuringly. "So explain all the reasons why it's a bad idea to marry him and tell him you want him anyway. Besides he's a Grey Warden. He can't be anything but your husband, so it's not like he needs to worry about being made King, himself." She told her. "Telling him that might make things easier."

                Elissa rolled her eyes. "Oh yes lets tell him 'I like you and want to marry you' before we have any type of real relationship." She snapped sarcastically. "What a great way to open a conversation about possibly starting a relationship. Of course, that should make him feel even more like he isn't good enough. Great idea!" She said despondently. She looked down at her feet blushing at her feelings of insecurity. It wasn't often she felt this way, she was used to being in control or at least knowing how to deal with a situation. In this case, she wasn't sure which way was the right way to go.

                "Look, I can understand why you're waiting." Solona said supportively. "Let me know when you want to tell him. I'll be there if you need me."

                "Thanks Sole." She smiled weakly.

                Solona bit her lip. "There is one thing you should know though."

                "What's that?" She asked hesitantly.  Solona's tone suggested bad news and she was afraid of what that news could be.

                "He already knows there is a prophecy." she explained biting her lip.

                "I know, you told me before."  Elissa said and then she groaned. "Why did you say anything to him?" She whined.

                Solona rushed to explain. "He was there when Flemeth said what she did, and he asked about it. I didn't know the wording yet so I sort of was thinking out loud."

                "Does he suspect he's a part of it?" She asked.

                Solona nodded. "Yes. I told him that it likely revolved around you and I both and since his life is tied to ours, he'd have to be an idiot to not suspect. And while he plays the part, he's not as even half as stupid as he pretends to be with the others."

                "Let's just not think about it for a few days." Elissa finally spat out, looking very confused. "We need to figure out if it's safe to go to Redcliffe soon or if we need to head off to Orzammar or maybe even Soldier's Peak."

                Solona was quiet for a moment before she hesitantly made a suggestion. "What about a trip to Ostagar since we are so close? There are still stragglers coming from there, maybe we can gather some information on the Horde, too?"

                Elissa was silent as she thought about the idea.  If their group was small enough they could slip through and do an investigation of the site, possibly gather remaining supplies. There were also the Grey Warden and King's documents there, it was unlikely the Horde would have taken them, and they might prove useful against Loghain or help their cause. Just because Elissa had the Warden letters and diary didn't mean she knew what was needed to make or prepare the Darkspawn blood to create new  wardens. Alistair had told her the Mages had to prepare it, and he knew it was mixed with other things, including lyrium. Hopefully, at Ostagar they could gain more information on that and other things.

                She wanted to make sure she could gather more of the wild flowers for Rory before she let him go through with the joining.  Having both Flynn and Adele would also help them find a safe passage through the wild areas between Honnleath and Ostagar without having to head out on the highway. If half the group stayed back with Bodahn and Sandal, they could get there and back in four or five days.

                "That's actually a good idea." She said slowly. "We'll leave Wynne, Morrigan, Sten, Cara and Shale with Bodhan and Sandal. They can gather supplies from around here before the Blight and Horde destroys it all."

                Solona nodded unhappily, she wasn't looking forward to seeing Ostagar again, even if it was her idea. "Wynne and Morrigan can even make a supply of healing and lyrium potions if we can find supplies."

                "I'll buy as much lyrium dust and flasks as they need from Bodhan. With the Chantry here they could also see if the priests and Templars had time to strip the place of their supplies." She suggested.

                "Sounds like a plan." Solona said, she was feeling exhausted. "We leave at first light?"

                Elissa nodded. "I'll inform everyone else of our plans."

Solona nodded and headed back to her tent. Elissa continued to do her nightly rounds and explained to everyone what she wanted to do. After the strain of the past two weeks, everyone who was staying behind was thankful for the rest. The ones going with her all had reasons to go back except Leliana, she wanted to go so she could pray for the people who had fallen. Shale was a little put out at being left behind but she did have the best insight for where the best supplies in the village would be. Elissa was busy making preparations for the rest of the night afterwards, which allowed for Alistair to watch her without her being aware of it. Rory caught him and tease him about his growing attraction.

                He took a seat next to Alistair in front of the fire. "Ah, so another one falls for the Teryn's daughter." Rory said as he bumped Alistair's arm playfully.

                He blushed deeply and looked sheepish. "It's that obvious?"

                Rory smirked. "I've been watching knights and nobles and even the servants fall in love with her most of my life." He chuckled. "You are in good company, and unlike the rest, she is interested in _you_."

                Alistair looked surprised. "She is?"

                Rory nodded with a smirk. "It's not the first time I've seen that look on her face, but it is the first time since she was sixteen and actually in charge of her life."

                Alistair raised his brows. "Who? I mean… I ah..."

                Rory just gave him a small sad smile. "She had a small crush on Nathanial Howe about three or four years ago." He said. His tone suggested he was sorry he'd brought up the subject. "More of a blushing when he was talking to her first crush thing."

                Alistair leaned forward seeing his chance to learn more about her. "But you two never..."

                Rory laughed suddenly, puzzling Alistair with his level of mirth at the suggestion. "Maker! No, no, no!" He just shook his head. He chuckled as he continued to explain to him about the sibling style relationship they had. "Have you ever had an instant connection to someone, but there is no spark? Just a feeling of family."

                Alistair shook his head. "No, I've never had a family, truly, so I don't even know what it would be like to have siblings for real." He paused, "Well except Solona." He smiled happily at the thought. "Just Sole."

                "Ah." Rory wasn't sure how he should respond to that. He plowed ahead with his intended answer instead. "Well to answer your question, no. We kissed once on a dare, and well, that was a complete disaster." He chuckled at the memory.

                Alistair shot him an astounded grin. "Disaster? Really?"

                Rory nodded and kept chuckled hoping to keep the rest of the conversation light hearted. "We were both fourteen and we had our eyes open and the feeling of something being so wrong was there for us both." He shook his head trying to keep his smile from giving how bad it was from Alistair until he could build a little suspense.

                Alistair was smiling now as he tried to picture it. "What happened then?" He asked impatiently.

                Rory burst out laughing. "She puked on my boots." He barely managed to bark out between breaths. Alistair couldn't help it, he joined in. Both of them were howling, gaining the attention of the entire camp.

                "What is so funny?" Cara asked as she was walking by on her way to her tent.

                "He was just telling me about kissing Elissa!" Alistair said, his laughter making his voice much louder than he'd meant to be and it carried to everyone close by.

                "Oh for crying out loud!" Elissa yelled back looking quite mortified by the story. "I was already sick! That's why I threw up on you!" already knowing without hearing what was said and what part of the story they were laughing at. The rest of the camp couldn't help but laugh too, even the dogs. "And Deirdre took pity on you that night if I remember correctly." She reminded him of the maid who'd taken it upon herself to help him clean his boots and given him a proper kiss, and possibly more. She never asked and he'd never told her what had happened. She could guess, however, because while Rory was discrete, Deidre was not, and she had spread rumors at the time about how 'impressive' Rory was going to be when he was older.

                Rory laughed and placed his hand held over his heart overly dramatic as he retorted. "Yup, and made up for your lack of regard so my poor wounded ego could recover!" Elissa rolled her eyes at his antics and went back to feeding Flynn. "Needless to say, we never got over it." He said quietly to Alistair still chuckling.

                Alistair nodded, laughter still in his eyes. The sibling vibe the two gave off was strong. "I see." He looked over to her again. "She was never interested in anyone at all since Nathanial?"

                Rory shrugged still smiling. "Not really. She spent too much time on the training grounds or in lessons with the castle chatelaine or seneschal to spend much time at court in Denerim. And when she was there she avoided the other marriage seeking nobles as much as possible." He leaned towards Alistair to keep the next bit more private. "She takes duty seriously. Most young nobles don't. Only a few like Cailan, Nathanial or Anora had some level of duty instilled in them. She used to come back from the events she was forced to go to all depressed because no one cared about their people the way the Cousland's do." He said proudly.

                Alistair sat back slightly and turned over this new information. None of it surprised him, he'd seen that about her quite a bit. "They must have been amazing people to work for." He said sadly as he remembered, like the Wardens and Duncan, they were gone.

                "The best my father could have done for me." Rory nodded, his mood took a downward turn as images of that night flashed through his head, making him crumple in upon himself.

                "I wish I could figure her out, though." Alistair shook his head, lost in his own thoughts he hadn't noticed Rory's posture. "We came all the way down here, but we aren't going to see if we can get to Redcliffe."

                Rory looked over towards her and sighed. "Her reasons are sound." He said thoughtfully as he reviewed what she said to him earlier. "We needed more intelligence on the Horde. Are they staying near Lothering or are they still advancing? Did they all leave Ostagar or are they establishing camps along a supply route? Where are Loghain's men? Are they hunting us or are they just here to keep the Horde contained?" He explained. Alistair listened intently. "One of the other minor reasons she's avoiding Redcliffe is because of the Arl's wife. I can never remember her name, Elissa just calls her 'the Orlesian bitch'." He chuckled sadly.

                Alistair sputtered as he choked trying so hard not to laugh. "Really?"

                "Yup. Useless and over-bred." He rolled his eyes. "Elissa's favorite insult for nobles." He snorted. "And for some like her, it fits well."

                "That's actually a good description of Isolde." Alistair said slowly as he really could see how that description fit the woman to a T.

                Rory nodded. "That's the name! She and most of the nobles Elissa used to be forced to play nice with used to make her pray for insanity!" He chuckled. "Made me glad to be a third son, no chance to inherit the Bann so I could live my life as a knight."

                "Wish I had the choice, instead I was forced into the Chantry." Alistair sighed.

                Rory looked questioningly at him. "You have a noble parent?"

                Alistair nodded blushing a deep red.  "Opps... I thought Elissa would have told you."

                Rory shook his head. "She won't tell others secrets learned in confidence, even to me. Makes her very easy to trust." Alistair still looked deeply embarrassed. He deduced the issue. "She also doesn't give a damn what side of the sheets someone is born on. Never has." He clapped him on the back as Alistair's blush deepened. Alistair's self-esteem issues now made a lot more sense to Rory. "If she cares for you, you could be the son of an elf and commoner and it still wouldn't matter to her."

                Alistair blushed deeply. That could be half true, not that he'd know, since he never thought to ask. Most of the Arl's servants before Isolde arrived were elves. But Goldanna was human so either her father was human too, or he wasn't an elf-blood.  It really never mattered anyway. Isolde had insisted they all be replaced once she moved into Redcliffe, and he'd been moved out of the keep with them and into the stables. Still, a stable-raised bastard was not someone a noble like Elissa could really be allowed to be with, could they? He decided to ask Rory.

                "But that's still means it could only be a short-term romance right? I mean... bastards aren't exactly welcome in the noble circles."

                Rory sighed but nodded. "In some cases that might be true, and if her mother was alive she'd have something to say about it, but Elissa never had to contend with a betrothal or any type of marriage obligation." Rory shook his head. "Her father made her a promise she could choose anyone she wanted. Cailan was the only noble of equal marriage-able rank in Ferelden and she never looked at him twice." Alistair again looked away quickly. Rory was starting to suspect who it was Alistair was related to, he had too many mannerisms that gave him away.  He wondered why he'd only heard rumors of there being a Arl's of Redcliffe's bastard who was given to the Chantry before now, whom no one had ever seen, but Alistair didn't look anything like Eamon. "Of course she could have looked outside of Ferelden, Starkhaven for example has several eligible 'princes', but she never would consider them. Rank doesn't matter to her anymore than it did her father."

                Alistair looked interested. "Her father?"

                Rory couldn't help it, his voice betrayed how deeply he respected the Teyrn. "Bryce could have married anyone in Ferelden or possibly even high in the Orlais nobility. Instead he choose a woman from the Free Marches, Kirkwall, without a title of her own beyond milady." Rory explained his chest swelling with pride at serving such a man. "The Amell family was at the time actually embroiled in a scandal, to boot. It seemed the cousin of the then Lord Amell had given birth to a second mage in six years and was pregnant again... Sole's mother actually, this would have been about eight years before she was born.” he said as he did the math in his head before nodding, confirming his numbers. "Yes, eight years. It would have been the Teryn's twenty-fifth anniversary this year."

                Alistair nodded along, looking over at Elissa again. "That would be a scandal, I'm surprised it wasn't hushed up." He knew some of the Circles in the Free Marches were harsher than Kinloch Hold had been rumored to be from internal gossip at the Chantry. But Noble families tried to keep the emergence of mages in the bloodline quiet. For it to be made public was unusual.

                Rory snorted. "Hard to do when the magic display is done in the city square in front of a patrol of Templars."

                Alistair winced. "Yeah, that would be hard to quell."

                Rory nodded and continued his story. "So the whole family was being considered 'cursed' due to the magic in the bloodline. The Amells were known for producing at least one mage a generation. But Bryce didn't care, he fell in love with Eleanor and proposed anyway. Likely saved the Lord Amell for several years before the Lord's reputation was destroyed a few years later and he lost the chance to become Viscount of Kirkwall. Even in the Free Marches the name Cousland is respected." Rory snorted at Alistair's slightly slack jawed looked as the story unfolded. "It's possible of course that at some point the Cousland's married into all the major lines over time in the southern Marches. They have been ruling Highever since before Ferelden was Ferelden and Kirkwall isn't that far from Highever. When a family is that old I guess they can make their own rules about who can join." He chuckled.

                Alistair finally closed his mouth and looked a little hopeful. "So it really wouldn't matter who my father was?"

                "To Elissa, no." Rory said shaking his head sternly. "The other nobles, I won't lie, yes it will." Alistair's shoulders slumped. "The higher ranked your father is, the more likely they will accept you, or at least try to use you so they can gain his use of influence."

                Alistair shook his head. "Nothing to worry about there, he's dead. So they wouldn't be interested in using me to get to him."

                It suddenly made sense to Rory why Alistair had been sent to Redcliffe, at least until Conner had been born. It finally clicked, who Alistair's father had to be, and had he made it to Ostagar and seen Cailan he would have picked up on it more quickly.

"Well in your case, being a Royal Bastard, some of them might try to make you a puppet-king." He whispered.

                Alistair hung his head and groaned. "They can't, thank the Maker! Being a Grey Warden means I can't hold a title and all birthrights are renounced for myself."

                Rory nodded. "But not your heirs. They might try to make you 'regent' and force you to marry anyway if only to stop a civil war."

Alistair stared into the campfire, brooding at the thought. Rory wondered why no one had placed Alistair as a Therein bastard before now. The priests and clerics would had to have known, obviously, but the nobles… someone should have noticed by now, the family resemblance was clear. In fact he looked more like Maric than even Cailan had now that he thought about it, and most of the nobles considered Cailan to be a mirror image of Maric; there was no way Loghain wasn't aware of it.

                Thinking of Loghain got Rory considering the throne and who the heir was now that Bryce was dead and no one knew about Alistair, not that it mattered. Natural line of succession would make Fergus the most logical heir but with him missing and presumed dead the crown would have to go to the next person in line. He took a quick intake of breath as he put things in order, the Couslands outranked Loghain and Anora and they, in turn, outranked Arl Eamon! With the Couslands and Alistair dead that cleared the way for King Loghain, he wouldn't even need his daughter to rule!

                "Andraste's flaming arse! Elissa is next in line to be Queen! Even before Anora!" Rory gasped.

                Alistair looked up sharply. "What? But what about her brother?"

                Rory shook his head still too shocked by his revelation to be discrete. "Fergus is likely dead."

                "We don't know that, he missed the battle." Alistair said with a hint of hope in his voice.

                Rory's face darkened. "Howe wouldn't have gone ahead with his plan unless he had an assassin ready to kill him sometime at Ostagar." His hand clenched tightly.

                Alistair sighed looking lost, looking at Elissa with longing as she spoke with Bodhan in the distance.

"So, she'll be Queen. That must be what she and Cailan were discussing and why he overturned her recruitment into the Grey Wardens... I guess that's it then." He picked up a stick and threw it into the fire dispassionately.

                Rory shook his head. "She won't care, Alistair! That's what I have been telling you." He grabbed Alistair's shoulder and gave it a little shake to gain his full attention. "I promise, as her best friend, and the person who knows her best, as long as you do not stop her from doing her duty, she will not cast you aside. Not unless you want her to. Being Queen is going to come with a lot of nobles trying to win favor and even more trying to marry her so they can become King. You can't be a King, but you can be her Consort."

                He looked up, hopeful. "Are you sure? I mean that's kind of presumptuous, to be thinking marriage but..."

                He laughed. "You think I told you all that just to pull a prank?" He shook his head as Alistair bowed his head bashfully. "No, I don't think it presumptuous. Nobles have to assume every relationship might end in marriage. That's one of the differences between us and regular people."

                He looked at Rory with suspicion. "Regular people?" He asked with a tone that was unsure what Rory was getting at.

                "Sorry." He said softly holding his hands up. "I don't normally pull out the rank card so I'm out of practice." He continued sheepishly. "I just meant normally people will date for a bit before they consider marriage. Nobles don't have that luxury. We have to assume it will work out that way or not get involved at all."

                Alistair got up and smiled. "But this isn't court, it's the wilds of Ferelden. And maybe we can see if this is something we both want..." Rory was impressed, he hadn't thought of that. Alistair could court her and Elissa could back out without a scandal if they decided to break things off. “I think I have something I want to give her. I just need to check on it. Thank you Rory." He said with a genuine smile that lit up his whole face. "You've been a great help."

                Rory smirked at him. "Anytime." He just hoped Elissa was ready for this. He'd waited a long time for her to fall in love and he was looking forward to seeing her happy again.

**20 th of Kingsway               **

**Evening in Honnleath**

                It was only the beginning of dusk when the group, headed to Ostagar, rode into the camp just outside Honnleath four days after they had left. To say the group was quiet, looked haunted and grief-stricken, would be an understatement.

                "It was horrible." Leliana explained to the others.

Alistair stayed away from the fire where everyone else was gathered to hear the story of what happened while they were away. Elissa accompanied him, the two sat just at the edge of the camp watching the road. Every so often they could hear bits and pieces of the story but for the most part Leliana's voice was indistinct from this far away.

                Elissa sat beside him and put her arm around his waist and rested her head on his shoulder, and in turn, Alistair placed his arm around hers allowing her to cuddle closer. It had become a simple thing they had done several times now.

During their nightly conversations on the trip back from honoring the fallen at Ostagar, Alistair had been angry and his grief nearly overwhelmed him. Elissa had gone to him, holding him until he calmed and he began telling her everything he knew about Duncan which, in hindsight, wasn't as much as she imagined. Since that night she had done exactly what she was doing now; holding him until he was ready to speak. In turn, she had shared her own grief about Highever and the two had bonded over their shared tragedies.

Even now, Elissa’s memory of seeing Cailan's body displayed like it had been was still was a shock. Not only had it been a psychological shock to her, the implications of intelligent Darkspawn were terrifying; Alistair hadn't been aware of the Horde’s ability to think in terms of psychological warfare either.

                While shocked and dismayed at the condition of Cailan's body, Alistair had been more devastated when they found Duncan's body on the field. In many ways, Elissa was glad they had gone back when they did. The emissary found there had been an intelligent necromancer and the amount of dead left on the battlefield could have become a nightmare if he had raised them and marched the undead Army on Ferelden.

                They had managed to salvage Cailan and Duncan's armor and swords. The real treasure to Elissa had been Cailan's chest containing important documents including his letters with the Empress and the Warden-Commanders of Orlais and Nevarra in which they had sworn to make the journey via Orlais and meet at Jader to enter the country and help with the Blight. It would take too many ships to cross the Waking Sea and it would be faster to march. The dates on the letters indicated that the army of Grey Wardens should be nearing Jader in two months, however disappointing, it did make sense given the time it takes to coordinate and march Armies across all of Thedas.

                Duncan's documents had also made it clear that Elissa was not a Grey Warden because Cailan had overruled it, but that the 'arrangements' for compensation from both the crown and Highever was more than adequate. He did state that he added her to the list of allies with top secret knowledge so as to best aid the Order. The letter insinuated he told her what secrets she might know and no mention was made of the diary.

                Back at the fire Leliana was just finishing telling them about finding the documents and deciding to return to camp.

During the trip, she learned of Alistair's father and of Elissa not being a joined Grey Warden, but had agreed to keep that information to herself. As she wrapped up her story she told them of finding the chest containing Maric's sword and the pyre they had made for the King and Duncan.

After the story, the rest of the group were quiet as they resumed their nightly routine, knowing in the morning they would be heading out toward Orzammar. Wynne, Morrigan and Cara had managed to find enough lyrium dust and elfroot to supply the party with enough health and lyrium potions to see them through several months. They even managed to find some deathroot and made poison for Leliana's arrows.

Since the route through Redcliffe was too heavily guarded, the group started heading north toward Orzammar, integrating themselves into the flood of refugees heading that direction. During the trip, Elissa packed away her Grey Warden armor as it was easier to hide the Highever crest than the gold embellishments of the Grey Warden regalia. She also bought a set of regular plate for Alistair from Bodhan at a very good price. He hadn't been happy to put his Warden armor away but he'd understood. They also stored Cailan's armor. Elissa imagined saving it for Alistair to wear at the Landsmeet.

                Bodhan's son, Sandal, was a god-send during the downtime. Elissa made arrangements for special runes to be applied to all of their weapons, asking him to enchant their weapons with flame, ice or lightning enchantments and silverite. Everyone had a weapon that now could effectively kill Darkspawn and do significant harm to anything else they encountered. They even found some strange ore in a crater on their way north that Sandal was excited enough about that Bodhan had agreed to transport it around for them in the wagons until they could find a smith with the skills to do something useful with it.

 

 

**25 th of Kingsway**

**Just outside the Gates of Orzammar.**

Bounty hunters.

Rory snorted with disgust. They hadn't been any type of challenge. They certainly had no idea the size of the group Elissa had managed to recruit. For a group that had been waiting, they could have set up some type of trap or at least used the terrain to their advantage. Instead, they stood on the road in the open and argued loud enough about whether the group was who they were looking for or not and lost any element of surprise they could have had! The party had more than enough time to apply their own tactics to the amateur ambush.

                The bounty hunters had managed to tell them something important when the group read their correspondence. Loghain and Howe knew that Elissa was 'the New Warden Commander of the Grey' and had declared her a traitor to the crown. Interestingly enough to Elissa, was that nowhere was her last name mentioned. Elissa had laughed when she read it.

"They are keeping quiet that a Cousland survived." She explained. "If I get to the Landsmeet and my allies see me standing against Howe and Loghain, they know they could both be executed for treason. I have too much testimony and evidence against them."

                "So they are going to get people to turn against 'Elissa the Warden' since most of the nobles won't turn against 'Teyrnessa Elissa Cousland'." Rory laughed with her. "They are running scared, then."

                Wynne shook her head. "Desperate men do very dangerous things when their plans for power are in danger of being exposed." She warned. "You should be very careful."

                Elissa sobered. "I am aware of that." She told the older woman respectfully. "But it is good news that the 'Teyrnessa' has not been declared a traitor. That would have made this entirely more difficult than it is now, in so many ways."

                "How so?" Sten asked.

                He was so often quiet, Solona was usually surprised when he spoke up.

"Because if the Teyrnessa had been declared a traitor, my allies would be branded the same if I met with them. As of right now, I can still meet with them and they can honestly say they had no idea I was the same person as Loghain should have declared me to be. Elissa Cousland, not Elissa the Warden, even if they have heard the same rumors of me being the New Commander. It's part of The Game, it was a mistake to play it like this and I intend to take advantage."

                Sten looked annoyed. "Your ways make no sense. You are either a traitor or you are not. Roles do not matter, only what _is_ matters."

                "It’s never that simple when bored nobles try to outwit one another." Rory retorted dryly. Sten missed the sarcasm and just nodded before heading on.

                The group moved into the marketplace carefully. Bodhan barely setup any wares with the wagon on the side closest to the road and made no effort to intermix with the other merchants. From their conversations in camp, Elissa was aware of why that was and allowed it to pass without comment. The group separated and went in search of information as well as supplies.

                Elissa's first stop was the merchant selling used weapons. He had several Qunari blades. Sten, however, did not see his. After showing the scavenger merchant the error of his ways when it came to Qunari blades the scavenger told Elissa he'd sold the sword they were looking for to a Dwarf that lived in Redcliffe. Sten had accepted Elissa's promise that they would retrieve it as soon as it was possible for them to enter the village. She also bought all the Qunari blades for dirt cheap so he could bring them home when he left. Sten had been very grateful for the thoughtfulness of the gesture. There was a shift in the way he spoke to her. His voice held a hint of respect which surprised her greatly but she let pass without comment.

Her second stop had been the ex-Ash Warrior. He had sold her some Kaddis and patterns that were rare and would help protect the two dogs. She'd also bought an extra couple of collars that had some additional protective magic. She wondered if Sandal could do more to them to further protect the dogs, or help when they were on the offensive.

                As she approached the doors to Orzammar she could hear a human delegate yelling about needing to be let in to discuss the Blight with the King. Hearing he was there on behalf of 'King Loghain' was all Elissa needed to hear. She quickly slipped back to the group and rounded them up.

                "We need to leave before that group with the ambassador learns the bounty hunters they left behind to guard the road are dead."

                The group quickly left and headed down a quieter route towards the North Road that Bodhan assured the party hardly anyone used anymore. It was weather-beaten and large potholes lined the rocky path. It was passable, barely.

                "Where are we heading now?" Alistair asked Elissa as they talked in camp that night.

                She sighed. "I think we should just look into Soldier's Peak while we wait a bit for things to clear. We need to keep a low profile for another few weeks. Loghain is getting very desperate if he is declaring himself King to outside Monarchs but is still calling himself Regent within Ferelden."

                Alistair nodded. He was out of his armor since he didn't have a watch this evening and Elissa was having difficulties concentrating. Her eyes kept being drawn to his broad shoulders and the way the linen shirt was plastering itself up against his chest every time the breeze caught it.

                "I wanted to give you something." He said quietly.

                Elissa gazed up at his handsome face and was amazed to see him blushing lightly. "What is it?" she asked, suddenly a little nervous. She had never experienced this fluttery feeling in her stomach as strong she did as when he was standing so close to her.

                He pulled a slightly glowing rose from behind his back and handed it to her. It was beautiful, the flower was at just the right stage of bloom to have the petals turned outward at the edges but still semi-closed in the center. She reached out and took the rose and lightly touched the velvety petals. "I had Sandal enchant it." He explained. "I saw it in Lothering and picked it on a whim, but I knew it was going to wither so I asked if it was possible to save it." He was looking at the rose in her hand and smiled. "I couldn't stand the idea that it would be destroyed when the Horde came, and at the time I was wondering if we were ever going to find you again."

"It's beautiful." she whispered, fascinated by the gift. She blushed softly as the romanticism of his gesture flooded her with warmth. He was a little taller than her, not so tall that she would have to stand on her toes to kiss him, but tall enough that she had to look up to meet his eyes. She lowered her eyes back to the rose so she wouldn't throw her dignity away and kiss him right then.

                "I wanted to give it to you when he'd finished with it, but only if it was still perfect." He explained nervously. "When he handed it back, I was very happy with it, and the glow reminded me of you by the fire." He lifted his hand and brushed her long auburn hair behind her shoulder, making her shiver with anticipation as his fingers trailed down the length of it. "The firelight always makes you look so beautiful." He told her, his voice lowered to a light rumble she could feel, making her almost moan.

She smiled at lightly stroked the petals again. "It's the most perfect rose I have ever seen." she spoke breathlessly. "Thank you." she added shyly.

                Alistair smiled and tried to keep his hands from shaking. "Yes, well. I'm glad you like it. I thought of you when I first saw it and I..."

                "Alistair..." She sighed happily as she looked up at him.

"Yes?" He whispered, his eyes were drawn to her lips as she sucked gently at the lower of the two, biting subtly before letting it slide out, leaving her lip darkened to a deeper red, and moistened it making them glow with the light from the rose.  All he wanted in that moment was to feel if her lips were as soft as the rose petals she caressed with delicate looking fingers.

                Her breath caught as his amber brown eyes held hers. She heard of moments where the earth stood still but she'd always cast aside the notion as bard-enhanced tales.  She wanted nothing more than for this man to be with her, but she was unsure how to express that. So many expectations melted away until it was just them and everything else she had to consider washed away.

                Alistair took a deep breath and then leaned forward. "I'm going to kiss you." He whispered. He was giving her a choice to pull away or accept him.

                "Oh." she gasped, then his full lips were pressed softly against hers. Her eyes fluttered closed as the kiss took over her senses, unlike any kiss she had experienced before. His taste was mixed with the watered wine they had with dinner and was just as intoxicating as full strength to her now, the smell of his recently stream-bathed hair and body held a scent of sandalwood and it was overwhelming her ability to think.

                He pulled her softly and carefully closer to his body as his lips lightly pressed against hers. The heat from his body made her own temperature soar. Her arms slowly raised themselves to wrap around his neck and one of her hands threaded through his hair pulling him a little closer and the other gripping the rose rested against the back of his head.

                He pulled back and broke the kiss for a moment to stare into her mesmerizing gold and green eyes. Elissa whimpered lightly. "Please don't stop." She whispered. He looked down at her for a moment in wonder before he pulled her tighter to his chest and kissed her more urgently, one of his hands resting on her lower back and the other sliding up to the nape of her neck, his fingers threading into her silky soft hair. She felt a rush of warmth and flutters flow from her belly into every part of her. It was everything she'd ever wanted in a kiss. It was enflaming, soft, yet passionate, and most of all she felt a thrill of excitement. She'd been kissed before but nothing like this.

                When he pulled away she could barely open her eyes. When she did he still was staring at her as if he expected her to disappear. "Is this really happening?" He asked so quietly she barely heard him. "Because this is usually when I wake up and find it's all been a dream."

                She smiled shyly. "Then we are both dreaming together." She whispered.

                He smiled at her. "That's good to know." He said chuckling before kissing her again.

                Rory who had been watching over them to make sure no one interrupted smiled happily. He turned back and headed back towards the fire to share the news with Solona who was waiting with anticipation.

                "Well?" She asked before he even finished sitting.

                "He did a good job." He chuckled.

                Solona giggled. "Good. I was worried he'd say something stupid and ruin the moment."

                Rory laughed, pretending to brandish a sword. "Ah ha, my new weapon of choice, Darkspawn, beware my Rose of Doom!"

                Solona burst out laughing. "Yes, exactly like that."

                Rory chuckled. "He was too nervous to think that clearly. It was very sweet."

                She smiled and leaned her head on his shoulder. "Good. They both deserve it."

                He looked down at her and smiled fondly. "Yeah they both do."

 

 


	9. Chapter 9

 

**29 th of Kingsway**

**Outside the gates of Soldier's Peak**

 

                Solona stepped forward ahead of the rest of the party and motioned for them to stop. She closed her eyes and felt through her magic for the edges of the Veil. Wynne and Cara gasped as they felt a small backlash. The Veil was so thin the slight magical caress Solona had sent out had felt more like a light slap in retaliation.

                "It's so thin!" Cara gasped as she stepped up beside Solona.

                Wynne also stood next to Solona. "I have never felt an area infected with such an emaciated Veil before." She whispered. "There is no telling what we might face here."

                Alistair could feel something on the edge of his senses. It felt slightly like a single powerful Darkspawn. "Solona can you feel the presence?"

                Solona internalized to try and sense the Darkspawn that Alistair seemed to feel but she couldn't sense anything. "No, nothing... but I'm not as old as you." She told him after careful consideration. There was some snickering from the party over that.

                "What about you Elissa?" Wynne asked softly. "Do you sense it?"

                Elissa shook her head. "I'm newer to this than even Alistair. I'm leading because I've had more leadership training than him." Wynne looked skeptical but did not question her. "Shall we?"

                "Perhaps Levi should stay back?" Leliana suggested. "If we are expecting trouble it would seem irresponsible to take an unarmed man in with us."

                Solona nodded absently. "Yes, that would be a good idea. I am sure there are demons and possibly something worse."

                "What could possibly be worst than demons?" Alistair asked bewildered.

                "An actual breach in the Veil... A doorway into the Fade that they can walk through freely." Wynne answered. Solona and Cara both nodded and scanned the courtyard. Morrigan stood in the back and watched the whole explanation.

                "And it could just be a simple tear." Morrigan said, sounding bored. "We'll not know until we investigate."

                "Alright everyone stick together." Elissa ordered. "Levi, stay here with the supplies and the dogs." Both Flynn and Adele whined at being left behind. "I need you to protect the supplies." She said to them directly. "Otherwise we can't eat tonight." Both dogs looked at each other and gave her a pout but Elissa just shook her head and turned away. "Good Wardens." She told them, making both of them perk up.

                Rory snickered at the dogs as he walked past, making Flynn growl at him and Adele took a snap. "Hey." He yelped. "Behave."

                "Don't antagonize my dog Rory." Elissa smirked.

                Alistair nodded his head seriously. "They tried to bite me yesterday for telling them stories."

                Elissa snorted. "You were telling them that I might feed them dog meat. I would smack you too if you told me you were going to feed me human flesh."

                Leliana gagged and looked utterly appalled. "I am going to be sick, can we move on please."

                The group finally moved towards the open gates. "Anyone else find it odd the gate was open?" Solona asked.

                Just as Alistair was about to respond the party was suddenly surrounded by a ghostly reenactment of the battle between the Grey Warden defenders and the King's Army as they stormed the gates. The images, sounds, scents of battle were all there, even the air took on a smoky fog they could taste on their tongues.

The replay of the initial charge through the gate and the retreat of the Wardens to the keep only lasted about fifteen seconds but the party felt flashes of cold as the images passed through them, making the group flinch away from the ghosts. Just as suddenly as the images appeared they vanished, only the air held faint traces of the smoky scent and taste.

                "That was creepy!" Alistair muttered loudly.

                "It was rather disturbing." Shale admitted.

                "What was that?" Elissa gasped still trying to recover her breath from the last figure that ran through her body, freezing her lungs momentarily.

                Solona just shook her head, she was horror-struck. Wynne looked shaken but explained. "When the Veil gets thin enough and something traumatic happens, the moment can get imprinted on a location. When the Veil gets disturbed it can often replay the moment."

                Cara shivered. "We disturbed the Veil just by walking in here. As mages we carry a connection to the Fade, and each of us are carrying enchanted weapons and armor, and there is so much magic pouring off Shale that it would be impossible not to disturb it. All this magic would cause ripples along the Veil."

                Solona nodded. "I've heard of that but never really seen anything like this before."

                Morrigan agreed with Cara. "We are likely to see more of these moments as we continue further into the keep."

                "Yes, and they might even get more intense, it would depend on the emotional level of the moment that's imprinted." Cara explained.

                Leliana had looked around at their surroundings and was puzzled. "Why are there skeletal remains from both sides littered about the courtyard? Some of them are wearing Warden armor while others are wearing the King's Army standard. "

                Rory gripped his sword tightly. "That's a good question Leliana. The winning side should have at least removed their own dead and burned the rest."

                Elissa swore. "That means there was no winners, only demons, and where there are demons there are undead." She moaned miserably. "I count fifteen bodies that I can see through the fog."

                Morrigan looked to Cara. "Do you have any skills that could help here? I understand you know some necromancy." There was instantly some grumbling from the majority of the group. Wynne was practically glowering at Cara, as was Solona and Alistair. Rory, Elissa and Sten all looked uncomfortable, Shale was not disturbed any more than Morrigan seemed to be.

                Cara crossed her arms around her stomach protectively and nodded slowly, she was acting very unsure of herself. "It's blood magic, but I can..."

                Wynne interrupted. "I can try some spirit magic to see if I can dispel the magic from the bodies."

                Elissa sighed. "We'll try Wynne first, and if that fails we'll try Cara's way." She gave Cara a smiled that was much more confident than she actually felt. "Blood magic takes stamina you might need later." She said as a way of smoothing things over with Cara.

                Cara gave a shaky smile of her own. She was grateful for the lack of judgment coming from Elissa. "I know some non-blood magic spirit spells but nothing to get rid of undead, only summoning them."

                Elissa nodded, making a note to ask each of the mages their strengths later. Wynne stepped forward and used her magic to remove the spirit links to the dead. It took her a while but she managed to clear the way to the keep doors. She was very tired when they finally reached the Keep. Elissa took one of the larger lyrium potions from the Wynne's pack for her and handed it to her.

                "Could I ask that you guide Cara towards regular spirit magic so we will not need you to tire yourself out so much?" Elissa whispered to the older mage. "It would also be good for her if she didn't feel so alone and hated.”

                Wynne smiled at her. "You are a good leader." She looked down at her fingers in her lap. "I am not the best at teaching or mentoring." Her face pinched as a painful memory seemed to flash in her mind.

                Elissa sighed and ran her hands up and down her legs trying to fight off the urge to growl at the old woman. They were all out of their comfort zone, but everyone needed to do their part. "You're the senior enchanter here, Solona has never taught, nor does she really have the time or patience since she is dealing with so many changes in her body and sleep. That leaves you or Morrigan to teach her."

                Wynne shifted uncomfortably. "Yes I understand that, but she is a blood mage, which means she is much more susceptible to demon possession than any other mage." She explained softly. "I fear teaching her something that could be turned on us when the demon takes her."

                Elissa internally growled but outwardly she smiled. 'Of course. I'll ask Morrigan then."

                Wynne sighed. "I'll talk to her." Elissa doubted the mage even intended to try. She believed it was better to try and find a way to help Cara avoid using the blood magic at all rather than wait for her to succumb to a demon because she felt marginalized as she had at the Circle. Still, Elissa had to maintain civil relations with all of her companions, she nodded her acceptance of Wynne's half-hearted offer and walked away towards her cousin.

Solona was examining the door, and was intrigued by the magic on it.

"There is a ward here." She said as she passed her hand above the door surface. The magic was leaping from the ward towards her fingers in little arcs of sparks.

                Morrigan walked forward and looked. "Yes, it feels like a containment ward." She shared a looked with Solona. "I wonder if what it was containing is still here."

                Solona shook her head. "Nevermind if the thing is still in here, how is the ward still active after over two hundred years? A ward normally falls when the mage who cast it dies." She looked over to Elissa with a worried expression. "Something is really wrong here."

The others all began to look even more nervous as the news seemed more drastic than expected. Elissa shook her head. "Will we let loose whatever is in there if we go in?"

                Solona shook her head, absolutely sure of the type of ward in front of her. "No, anyone can go in. Just whatever it was designed to keep in will be locked inside. We'll even be able to leave as long as were not possessed."

                Cara felt the ward and shivered. "It's a blood ward." She announced. "A demon containment blood ward."

                Solona's lips tightened but she nodded her agreement. "That's my opinion too, Elissa."

                She nodded. "Ok, so we are good to go in when you're ready Wynne."

                Wynne nodded and slowly got up. "I'll be fine now. Thank you for waiting."

                Elissa nodded and the party once again lined up for going through the door. Due to the expectation of demons, Alistair and Shale were lined up to enter first. As they entered, they were once again overtaken by a reenactment. This time, the replay was of Sophia Dryden's speech to her Wardens before the start of the siege.

They worked their way through several rooms of undead and an Arcane Horror, and several scenes played which added a little more to the history of the siege, depicting the mindset of the people in the keep. Records and letters lying about the rooms painted a clear picture of Sophia Dryden that were not going to make Levi happy. She had, as Elissa expected, been leading the Wardens into rebellion. It had to be hard to be in the Order when there was no reason to exist other than to carry on the traditions and teach skills that Wardens might need to the next generation.

Sophia’s chance to become queen had been lost years before the rebellion, and rather than exile or execute her, King Arland had sentenced her to join the Grey Wardens. She rose to the title of Commander of Ferelden honestly and quickly, however, the King was a tyrant and some of the nobles had regrets about supporting him.

Many agreed it was time for a rebellion, and Sophia was asked for help.  It was clear from the journal of the archivist that the Cousland family greatly supported the rebellion, and according to other records Rava Cousland chose to be home at this time so she could render aid from the outside.

Arland found out about the rebellion before they were ready, rendering Rava's plans to help completely infeasible. Sophia had ordered that an army of demons be brought through to help fight the King's Army, of course the demons they summoned were out of control and attacked everyone and anyone.

                "I thought Grey Wardens couldn't hold titles." Alistair said, puzzled. "Why were the nobles asking her to be queen, anyway?"

                "The nobles likely were going to let her unseat the king and then place someone else on the throne, possibly her child and she would be allowed to be 'Regent' until her child was old enough to rule without her." Elissa explained. "Regents are not considered to be titles, but rather obligations."

                "Huh, so she would have only been stepping in temporarily as Queen." He clarified.

                Elissa nodded. "Seems so, and the nobles wanted the Grey Wardens to do their fighting for them."

                "And it's only because King Maric was convinced by the Grey Wardens less than twenty-five years ago that the Darkspawn were a threat that there are any Grey Wardens here for the Blight." Leliana told them.

                Elissa stared at the bard with a blank expression, inside she was wondering how she would know information that was considered to be state secrets. The king had confided in her Father but not Loghain, having been warned it would not go over well. She outwardly shrugged as she made it a priority to find out more about Leliana.

"Maric knew the Blight was coming." The group seemed surprised by her announcement, except for Rory and Solona.

                "How?" was asked by several of them. "When?"

                Elissa shrugged. "I don't know the particulars but my father mentioned it in passing when the first Darkspawn raids began. My father began preparing for the Blight a full decade before any of the Banns did because Maric confided in him that the Darkspawn were beginning to breed as they dug closer to the Archdemon."

                "There are tales of Maric going into the Deep Roads with the Wardens of Orlais and Weisshaupt." Leliana said excitedly. "They are true then?" Elissa swore in her head, of course the others. The mage with them was now grand enchanter of all the Circles of Thedas. She likely had shared the information. Orlais leaked secrets like a sieve.

                Elissa nodded. "Yes, as far as I know." She placed the book she'd had in hand back down on the desk. "We should head up to the next floor." 

                The next floor had several demons and the tear in the Veil itself. Not wanting Demons to come tearing up the stairs from behind them, Elissa had Rory Cara, Morrigan, Sten and Shale stay and guard the portal while Solona, Alistair, Wynne and Leliana accompanied her up to the next floor.

                In the Commander's study they all got the shock of a lifetime. Standing in her Warden Commander Armor was the possessed body of Sophia Dryden. The demon inside her had been trapped so long inside the body and the Keep that it seemed confused at times of which memories were its own and which ones were Sophia's. The body of the Warden-Commander was strange to see. It was blighted, as if the warden had never been one and instead had contracted the sickness and become a ghoul. Her eyes were glazed over with a dead white film and its skin looked paper thin and blacked, as if someone had held it near a flame.

                Elissa spoke to the demon trying to find out more about what had happened. Once she learned that there was a mage keeping her there in the keep Elissa attacked her, not wanting to hear anymore. A blood mage would be a better source of information than a demon, anyway.

                It was difficult to fight her because the room was so small and the desk kept Elissa from using her sword and shield fighting style as effectively as she would have liked, and the others were also limited by t he space and could not get close enough to help without getting in the way. Sophia had no room to swing her sword with both Elissa and Alistair pressing from either side, and it had obviously not fought in a long time. They defeated her without too many injuries.

                They pressed on and found the door that had been previously locked that connected the keep to the tower by way of a bridge that was trapped and defended by undead. Unlike the ones below, these ones were controlled by magic directly, which meant the mage was still alive. Alistair was certain the mage in question was a Grey Warden. He explained it as, "I can feel him, he's as corrupted as any Darkspawn, but the taint feels differently when it's a warden." Even Solona thought she might be sensing him now that she was much closer.

Before the confrontation with the mage, the party came across the mage's study and experimental potions lab. The research the mage Avernus seemed to be doing was ghastly, but the man was still alive after over two hundred years. The strange fact was he must know more about Wardens than any of them ever could. Furthermore, he had been researching the blood taint for most of that time. Solona was intrigued by his ability to resist The Calling, especially with the Archdemon awake and actively speaking to the Horde.

                Talking with Avernus was a challenge. His views were twisted by his lack of morals and too much time alone with only demons to talk to, although his efforts were always to resist them. There were still decayed bodies of other Wardens in the room, to what purpose Solona did not want to even guess at. She had never seen or heard of this kind of research, never even dreamed of such atrocities. Avernus had experimented on his brother wardens!

                "I hear you." He had called as they entered. "Do not disrupt my concentration." He had been standing at the desk looking over notes and mixing bottles, so they had waited. After a few minutes he had walked down to meet them. His robes were of a much older style but still obviously Grey Warden robes with the Blue and Silver stripes flowing down the length of them. He was old, but unlike the ghoul of Sophia Dryden he was still human, alive and even more surprising he was not infirm. His voice was dry and crackled from disuse. "Even now I can feel the demons trying to replenish their numbers although they are waiting on the other side of the doorway. Are you to thank for this welcome but temporary respite?"

                Alistair once again jumped in to ask the question they were all thinking. "You're the taint I sensed. The Old Warden Mage, how are you still alive?" Alistair was aghast.

                The old man scoffed. "Just because the Chantry dismisses blood magic as heresy does not make it useful, dear boy." Avernus dry voice chuckled. "I only have a short time left, so it is good you have come. I no longer feel the presence of the ghoul Sophia so I am assuming of course that you are here to stop the demons from pouring through and help repair the Veil?"

                Solona stepped forward forcefully, she hated blood magic and she didn't want Elissa offering this one any deals. "Yes we are." Avernus looked both her and Alistair over quickly. "We were originally thinking of clearing the place to reclaim it for the Grey Wardens."

                He smiled, to Solona it seemed creepy. "An admirable goal, however, we would need to seal off the doorway. The miscalculations of the original summoning would need to be reversed and then banish the demons back to the Fade. Alone I have not been able to do this. I have been able to maintain a status quo as you could see. They could not leave but they could not bring more across either, and I have been forced to use this tower while they used the keep."

                Elissa stepped forward. "You maintained the balance, but what of these experiments? How could you do this to your fellow wardens?"

                Avernus's face twisted into a snarl. "You would not understand. You are not a Grey Warden!" At these words Wynne gasped softly but the old man didn't seem to hear as he plowed on with his tirade. "Any means necessary! Any tool! Any iota of information that could help combat the demons was justified! They volunteered to do the experiments. I just did not allow them to back out once it started, besides by then it was much too late. They were already too far gone to survive without the experiments being a success."

                Alistair looked disgusted. "Necessary? Having to relieve yourself after an eight hour ride is necessary. This is just a waste of life, as is all blood magic!"

                Avernus was not impressed with Alistair's retort. "Charming." he drawled. Elissa shot Alistair a look that told him to let them handle it. She looked to Solona.

                Solona swallowed before she continued. "We were hoping you would have some answers for us." She said as diplomatically as she could, once again she was relying on her skills at reading people.

 Avernus was like Morrigan in that it had been a long time since he had been in the company of normal people and so his body language gave him away. He was tired but very alert to danger, almost paranoid with the way his magic was being pulled upon and the minor pull on the fade he was making to power the protection spells he had around the tower.

                "I imagined you would." His posture was very wary but his demeanor softened a little when she changed to polite so Solona decided to follow the same route she had with Morrigan since it had worked so well with her.

                "How are you holding off the demons alone for so long?" She asked.

                "Ah, this ties directly to my research." He smiled once more. "Blood magic comes from demons, as such they are capable of countering every move and eventually they would have won. But the taint that has power, and it is alien to them." He paused for a moment before his eyes refocused on Solona. "You are a new Warden," his eyes flicked to Alistair, "as is he. But you are a mage, tell me have you felt an increase in the effectiveness of your spells?"

                Solona took a moment to deeply think on it. She'd been casting much more than ever, and her ability to cast longer had been a surprise, and her spells were getting easier to cast, as if she had much larger reserves or the spells were getting easier to cast at a much quicker rate than she had expected while living in the Tower. "I thought that was because of the increase in stamina that comes from the Joining."

                Avernus grinned. "Yes, it does but there is also another reason. Blight magic. My research also uncovered some uses for the magic in the blood of a Grey Warden for the others."

                Solona felt her blood chill. "Blight magic? I've never heard..."

                He angrily cut her off. "Of course you haven't. No one outside of the Wardens would have access or the need to research such a branch of magic. The Chantry would automatically denounce it, although they have no rights over Wardens and could do nothing about it." He looked longingly at the table behind him. "I have nearly perfected a potion to make a Grey Warden even more effective."

                "More effective?" She asked, her curiosity aroused even as her disgust at the treatment of the dead men surged through her.

                "Ah yes." He replied slipping into a teaching tone. "The joining ritual is crude. It was stumbled upon during the first blight and not refined much at all. The concoction is poison which is why so many die. We have been researching ways to increase the efficiency for ages, but instead of better chances at surviving I have found ways to unlock some of the magic in it to make mages more powerful, and non-mages more deadly." He went into an explanation that while the others were lost, Solona and Wynne were able to understand. The blood could be used to make a warrior or rogue quicker, dribble blood on their blades to make them toxic to Darkspawn and all other life on Thedas, it could lend extra strength, but all at the same cost to the warrior or rogue as regular blood magic. For mages it naturally made their spells more effective and eased the cost of casting. Focusing on the blood allowed blood mages to regain mana at an incredible rate.

                When he stopped speaking Solona and Wynne were both very quiet. Alistair couldn't wait for them to speak. "What does that mean in terms we can understand?"

                Solona just shook her head. "Short-term speed and efficiency in exchange for blood. Basically focused blood magic spells for non-mages, and hugely increased mana stores, and damage caused by spells for mages."

                Alistair shook his head. "Now why can't everyone do that? See, easy explanation we can all understand. And it's disgusting, by the way." He said, his voice laced with sarcasm.

                "Perhaps to you, boy." He looked angrily at Alistair. Elissa unintentionally stepped between the two, breaking their staring at one another. "But I had to contain the demons, or would you rather I let the tear in the Veil rip wide open and allow all the demons in the Fade pour through?" Alistair has the decency to blush but he looked straight at him, not backing down from the challenge, but with Elissa blocking the stare down didn't last.

                "Can you tell us what happened here?" Solona asked.

                Avernus told them the story about the rebellion starting with the Couslands and the instigation by the then Teyrn and a large group of Banns, Rava's husband was not the Teyrn at that time. When the Grey Wardens were planning the rebellion away from the keep they were betrayed and ambushed.

The Teyrn and most of the leadership had been killed before they arrived at the meeting, the displaying of the bodies of their allies was graphic. Sophia and Avernus were the only two wardens to make it back. They closed the gates and prepared for the siege. The wardens had originally hoped for the Teyrn to support them, considering there was a fair number of Couslands that died at the ambush. Instead, the King had executed the old Teyrn, installing his son as Teyrn and threatened to kill Rava for treason.

                In exchange for not being executed for treason, all Wardens who willingly walked away from the keep or were not a part of the active service at the time of the rebellion were exiled, and support for the rebellion was called off. Tithes and supplies were stopped and the Tyrant Arland was true to his word.

The Wardens were escorted to the border of Orlais or to ships that left for the Free Marches. The Order itself was also exiled from Ferelden. The rest of the Wardens with Sophia were trapped like rats at Soldier's Peak until she ordered Avernus to call the demons. He had made a miscalculation and the demons raged out of control and the tear destabilized. By the time he had stabilized it the demons were here to stay, so he trapped them in the keep.

                To say Elissa was upset by the description of events was an understatement. There was no proof that Sophia wasn't a traitor. Quite the opposite, the proof they found showed she was inciting a rebellion with the help of the nobles. If anyone would believe the testimony of Avernus, the Dryden family line would just be dragging an old scandal that had been dealt with back into the light of day. It would serve no purpose.

                In the end the old mage agreed to help them close the tear in the Veil. They walked back to the rest of the party. Together they put the demons, shades and undead in the room down hard. Closing the tear took most of Avernus's strength and all his mana. Solona quickly gave him a quick healing spell to help him recover some strength. With the tear closed, the oppressive atmosphere in the keep was elevated and the smells of death and decay lessened slightly.

                As cold as it was outside the group decided to clear out the first main room for a warm dry place to camp. With everyone working together, even the dogs outside gathering firewood, it only took an hour to set up bedrolls since they wouldn't need tents. Avernus had gone back to his tower after talking with Solona. He agreed to submit himself to her judgment, something that wasn't missed by Wynne. Solona had said she would think on it and tell him her decision in the morning. Allowing him to go his own way was an indication she was not going to kill him and he seemed at peace with that.

                "They are the only two wardens left and it is a Blight now, yes?" Avernus asked Elissa before heading back to his tower.

                She nodded. "Yes, the current queen's father betrayed the King and the rest of the wardens and even now is hunting them down to kill them."

                He snorted his disgust. "And then he'll watch his country burn and be blighted by the Horde."

                Elissa's eyes burned brightly. "Not while I draw breath."

                He grinned. The smile was deeply disturbing. "But you are not a Warden. And you cannot defeat the Archdemon."

                She raised her chin and stared into his eyes. "No, but I lead them all the same."

                He looked thoughtful. "That you do. I wonder why that is."

                "Both are raw recruits without leadership training, I am providing that training while we fight." She defended herself and her friends. "Sole has been a warden for only weeks and Alistair months."

                He nodded impatiently, as if her reasons didn't matter. "Are you recruiting as well? The Archdemon is not going to disappear without being defeated." He asked haughtily.

                She shrugged. "We don't have the ability to make more wardens, nor do we even know how an Archdemon is defeated. But I have a few recruits among us if we ever do find out."

                He looked at her with incredulity. "I have the supplies and the ability to make the potion for the ritual." He told her. "You'll need equal parts Darkspawn blood, lyrium and a drop of Archdemon blood for each vial of each you mix."

                Elissa's breath caught. "Archdemon blood? Where...."

                "Each outpost has a vial as well as an emergency supply of Darkspawn blood held in stasis." He said dismissively. "How many of you require the Joining?"

                "Rory and Cara." She said softly.

                He raised his brows. "Not you?"

                She shook her head. "I was conscripted, but the King made me his heir before he died, I can't become a Warden."

                He laughed, it sounded wrong to her ears. Scratchy, like weathered parchment in the wind. "No and you should not Teyrnessa Cousland, you have a different calling, but one that must be done." He said sadly. His body seemed to slump further with exhaustion.

                She shivered at his words. "You are right."

                He nodded. "I will make the potion for you and it will be ready by morning." He said as he began to walk away, leaning heavily on his staff. "Ready the recruits 'Commander'." He smirked with a hint of irony in his voice. She shook her head and watched him leave. As the door closed she could hear someone behind her on the steps.

                Wynne come up the stairs and smiled gently at her. "A word, Your Grace?" She asked softly.

                Elissa nodded. She indicated some old chairs and invited the mage to sit. She had a feeling this might take a while. Wynne seemed the type to draw out conversations once she was ready. She sat back and waited for the mage to speak.

                Wynne started hesitantly. "If I may ask, why did you hide the fact you are not a Grey Warden?"

Elissa smiled grimly and shook her head, disputing her assessment. She made an effort not to respond with her temper to the question which implied that she had lied.

She had lied, she had to remind herself. Mostly by omission, but still, a lie was a lie. However, Duncan's documents changed things slightly and Elissa wasn't above using it to her advantage.

                 "I am a Warden, just not a bonded or blooded Warden. It's more of an advisor role." Elissa explained. "Duncan called me a "Warden Ally."

                "I see." She said carefully. "So you assumed command?" Her voice trailed off leaving the question open.

                Elissa smiled. "I was basically forced to." Wynne looked thoughtfully at her. "Solona is only seventeen, and unlike you has never been outside of the Circle since she was five."

                Wynne nodded carefully. Something about Elissa put her on edge. She had a temper when it came to defending her cousin. Wynne liked giving advice, but Elissa was hard to approach and yet the spirit of Faith gave her courage to question her.  "Yes, I am aware. I was one of her teachers."

                "I know, she's mentioned you and another enchanter named Anders." Elissa acknowledged gracefully.

                Wynne's mouth pinched a little at the name Anders but she didn't add anything to that, instead she moved on. "What of Alistair? He was training to be a Templar, surely he had some leadership training."

                Elissa shook her head more slowly. "That part of his training was strangely absent." She said, she refused to say anything about Alistair's life to the woman, even if she was well-meaning.

                "So they asked you to lead?" Her tone held a level of assumption that Elissa was willing to go along with.

                Elissa smiled faintly. "Yes, for now. I am trying to teach them both what they need to know and letting them make choices whenever possible. It's a hard thing to teach those that have been trained to be... _subservient_." She finished grimly with fire in her eyes.

                Wynne looked uncomfortable. The way Elissa said subservient was not lost on her. Elissa's anger towards the Circle and Chantry were not secrets in camp. Her disregard for the laws of the Chantry regarding mages concerned her. "What of Rory? Will he step up?"

                Elissa considered her question for almost a minute before she responded. Wynne didn't push, but the time it was taking her to respond was making her uncomfortable. From the far off look on Elissa's face it was obvious she was thinking the idea through.

                 "Rory certainly could, but he won't because of the men he lost under him at Highever." Elissa finally said slowly with a deep frown of grief on her face. "He's of the opinion that Alistair and Solona should be in charge when all is said and done, so he'll be helping me train them. It won't take much for Solona to step forward, she's used to being at least a little rebellious. But Alistair is a different story." Anger clouded her features as she continued. "Even before the Templars he was not in a position to be allowed to voice his opinion on anything. He's learned to be sarcastic and self-depreciating as a result. He believes too much in what he's been told all his life; that he's not to try and rise above his station, that his place is in the shadows, following orders and staying hidden."

Elissa's anger over his treatment, while she wasn't aware of the circumstances, was evident. What was more hidden was her complete disregard for that assessment. While Alistair might believe it now, she did not. She'd seen his true character and once he had the confidence to go with it he was going to be a great Prince-Consort, if not King, in his own right.

                Wynne looked very uncomfortable at her argument. "So you planned to raise Solona to a position of power?"

                Elissa looked sharply at Wynne. "If she is the best for the Wardens then yes, I will recommend her for the position of Commander."

                "And if she's not?" Wynne pressed.

                "Then I will not." Elissa said defensively. "What is this about?"

                Wynne sighed and leaned back in her chair. "Even as a Grey Warden I worry about what the Chantry would say about a mage being in a position of power, especially when her position will be at the head of an army."

                Elissa snorted with amusement. "They have no say. The treaties between the Chantry and the Wardens clearly state what the consequences are if the Chantry tries to exert control over the Wardens. I'd love to see them try and tell the Wardens she can't be their Warden-Commander of Ferelden."

                Wynne nodded sadly. "Yes, I gathered that, and I do hope they won't push, but the Wardens were gone for so long the local Chantry might not remember their place."

                Elissa was glad she didn't have to explain the Treaties of the Grey to the obviously pro-Chantry mage. The Treaties allowed for the Grey Wardens to conscript anyone, even members of the Chantry. That was why both Alistair and Solona were wardens regardless of the objections of the Templars and Grand Cleric.

                 

There were things the Chantry would have to consider before objecting, for one, a withdrawal of Grey Warden support for areas who spoke out against the Wardens. Unpatrolled areas of Deep Roads tended to gather larger amounts of Darkspawn, leaving it up to the Templars and local troops to fight off Darkspawn raids between Blights and no support during a Blight.

It is known that there were three more Archdemons before this Blight had started, they weren't about to challenge the Wardens yet. The Chantry had always toed the line and not gotten involved in Warden business before. They might complain and send letters to Commanders and the Warden Leadership, but that was the extent of their interference. The Chantry at the time of the signing, near the end of the second Blight, didn't have as large a force of Templars at their disposal as they did now, nor did they have control over the mages yet.

                Mages in the Wardens were free, one reason for this was the lack of distance between Tevinter and Weisshaupt. The other was the number of mages in some areas, as many as half of the members were former-apostates or free Tevinter mages. It was an uneasy balance, but the Chantry was careful not to cross the line because while in the south the Templars outnumbered the Wardens, overall in a war the Chantry would lose. The Black Divine of Tevinter would back the Wardens and that meant too many battle seasoned mages and support troops for the Chantry to fight. The Chantry was also spread out over Thedas while the Wardens were mostly concentrated in one inaccessible area. Any move on the Wardens would be telegraphed to the Wardens before the Chantry could get their army too far north.

                "They will not interfere." Elissa said sternly.

                Wynne sighed. "What of Alistair?"

                Elissa didn't follow the mage's train of thought. "What about Alistair?"

                "I understand that you and he are getting together as a couple. Is that wise?" She asked with a hint of concern, but also a hint of disapproval.

                Elissa narrowed her eyes dangerously at the older woman. "Yes it is." She stated emphatically. So forceful was her response that Wynne accidently pushed herself back in her chair, sliding it over an inch away until it hit the wall behind her.

                She took a moment to collect herself but carried on with her questioning. "Grey Wardens are required to make sacrifices..."

                "I am aware of that." Elissa stated. Her entire body was ridged. Without meaning to, her bearing became that of an intimidating Teyrnessa rather than the friendly Commander she had been projecting since Lothering.

                Wynne's posture fell a little. "Is it wise to...?” She tried again to state her concerns but Elissa was having none of it.

"That is none of your concern." She stated tersely. "And I suggest you do not question me on this matter again." She paused for Wynne who looked down and nodded.

                "I am sorry, Your Grace." She whispered.

                Elissa took several deep breaths to calm herself. "I don't know what you have against Solona and Alistair, but I suggest you get over them."

                Wynne looked surprised. "I have nothing against them."

                Elissa did not look impressed. "Don't you? You don't think Sole would be a good Commander even if she is the most qualified, and you don't think Alistair can do his duties as a Grey Warden if he is in a relationship with me. What else am I suppose to think, Wynne?"

                She winced and rubbed her forehead. "I can see that I might not have conveyed my concerns well."

                "By all means, try again." Elissa said with a level of aggravation in her tone that served as a dangerous warning. She was ready to shut the woman down if need be. If Wynne was questioning her decisions, she'd be welcoming of her questions, because that was what a good commander did. But the woman was questioning her relationships. She wasn't going to allow anyone, noble or commoner to tell her who she could or couldn't be in love with.

                Wynne hesitated. "I am just concerned for everyone's well-being. Solona has not been away from the Circle for too long and I am concerned she could have issues if confronted by Templars who could be threatened by a mage in a position of power."

                Elissa considered that. It was good advice, and it might have been a valid concern if Alistair wasn't basically her best friend. "I think Alistair is helping her with that actually, but it has only been a few weeks and she is doing well. I'm not planning on handing over the reins until I am certain they can handle it." She paused and nodded to Wynne. "I can understand that concern. I am willing to take that advice, and accept it for what it is."

                Wynne took a deep breath. "Alistair has been in the Chantry for half of his life. All of it as a teenager." She said hesitantly.

                "What is the problem?" Elissa again didn't understand her concern.

                "I believe him to be a little on the naive side and am worried he'll be hurt when things end." She said sadly.

                Elissa couldn't believe what she was hearing. "So you’re concerned he wouldn’t do his duty as a Grey Warden because I'm going to break his heart." she spoke through gritted teeth.

                Wynne steeled her spine but didn't back down. "As a noble you surely have no intention of marrying an ex-Templar and a commoner."

                Elissa stepped forward and pushed Wynne back in her chair with the point of her finger pressed into her chest. "I have every intention of doing just that, as Queen of Ferelden to boot...if he _wishes_ it!" She yelled at the astounded woman.

                "Queen?" She gasped. Her hand flew to her chest.

                Elissa slammed her fist into the wall by Wynne's head. "I am the rightful heir to the throne of Feleden and I have the papers to prove it." She glared at the frightened woman who was even now encased in a barrier of magical energies. "And anybody who objects can go to the Void for all I care."

                She turned and stormed down the stairs. Her loud entrance and end of her conversation with Wynne had everyone already on their feet and looking towards her as she entered the room with her eyes fixed on Alistair. She stalked over to him and grabbed him into a rough but passionate kiss, leaving everyone around her stunned and speechless.

                Alistair looked down at her with confusion as she broke the kiss. "What was that about? Not that I'm complaining, mind you." he added as he took in the stormy expression on her face.

                "Alistair and I are together." She told the room without once taking her eyes from his. "Anybody having a problem with that is free to keep their opinions to themselves, or leave."

At this proclamation everyone turned to look at the pink cheeked Wynne who quietly walked to her bedroll and sat down without uttering a word.

                Alistair looked over to Wynne and then back down at Elissa who had yet to let her eyes move from him. "She..." He looked downcast.

                Elissa nodded tensely. "And I told her to stuff it."

                "The queen bit?" He asked shyly.

                Elissa's stern expression cracked and she blushed a little. "I didn't mean to let that out. I know we haven't discussed that yet, but we will be ok."

                He chuckled and hugged her tightly. "The Fierce Warrior Queen of Ferelden. Has a nice ring to it."

                She laughed lightly and melted into his embrace. "Thank you, my prince." She told him as she let go. He blushed and smiled.

                Solona had been trying to keep tabs on who had been surprised when Elissa had yelled out her last secret for all of the party to hear. At this point she wondered why Elissa was supposedly so good at the game when she couldn't keep a secret to save her life. Within three weeks everyone in the group knew almost everything about everyone else.

Leliana was a bard who was, at one time, more loyal to Orlais than Ferelden. Sten was exiled until he could reclaim his sword. Cara was a recovering blood mage. Rory was reluctant to lead since Highever where he lost everyone in his division. Alistair's secret was known to half the group but the rest knew he was an ex-templar, which in and of itself was news. Solona herself had been infatuated with a Templar that returned her feelings, and now everyone knew Elissa wasn't a Grey Warden but instead the next true Queen of Ferelden. The only one who thought she held on to her secrets was Morrigan, and Solona was fast finding out the secrets Flemeth had been hiding from her dearest daughter. Shale was a mystery to them all, even herself.

                With the exception of Rory and Alistair, everyone had been stunned, even Sten and Shale had looks of surprise and shock.

                Elissa pulled back from Alistair and turned towards Rory and Cara. "Both of you will be going through the Joining tomorrow morning." She told them. "Avernus has the recipe and ingredients we need."

                Rory hesitated before nodding his head. "I'll be ready."

                Cara looked frightened but resigned. "As will I, Commander."

                It was a very tired Elissa that looked over the group. They all seemed as tired as she was after dealing with the things they had learned this evening.

"We should all get some sleep. There will be no need for additional watches as we cleared the place of anything too dangerous. Do you think you could handle it alone this evening, Shale? In case we missed something." she asked the golem. ~~~~

                Shale nodded. "It was nice to ask but I would be watching anyway."

                Elissa smiled at her and patted her shoulder as she passed. "It is very considerate of you to always be willing to help out."

Shale just walked toward the staircase and stood still and silent as the rest of the group headed to their bedrolls. It had been a long day and it would be an even longer one in the morning.

                Elissa was just about to fall asleep when she realized she had forgotten something important. "Damn." She sighed as she got up and dragged her cloak around herself.

                "What's the matter?" Solona asked.

                "I forgot to call in the dogs and Levi." She grumbled as she headed out into the dark with a torch.

                Rory waited until Elissa was out the door before he sat up and looked towards Wynne. "I don't know what you _think_ you know about her, but I am warning all of you, do not underestimate her commitment to the Wardens. She is one." He said as he looked at each and every member of the group individually. “She is also going to be Queen when all is said and done. Anybody getting in her way is going to become her enemy. Do not stand between her and her duty. You can question her, ask her for help, lean on her if you need it, just don't try to stop her from doing what needs to be done."

                "You knew Cailan made her his heir?" Solona asked, not really surprised by that. "I thought she wasn't telling anyone about that." she said after a long moment of silence from everyone.

                Rory shrugged. "Alistair and I worked it out. And she hinted at it on the way to the Tower."

                Alistair snorted. "No, you figured it out and I sat there wondering what was going on."

                "It's a wonder you followed along at all." Morrigan said drawly.

                "Well my choices are to lead, follow or get out of the way. When it comes to Elissa I prefer the latter two choices."

                "Let's not be fighting when Elissa get back." Solona suggested. Alistair and Morrigan both turned their backs on one another and settled back into their bedrolls.

Nearly twenty minutes later, Wynne was still awake as Elissa, Levi and the dogs came in carrying the last of the gear they had left with him at the gate. She listened as Elissa explained to him with a sympathetic and diplomatic voice what they had uncovered and what they had learned. Levi was upset of course about the outcome, however, Elissa had a solution to his troubles.

                "We need a hidden base from which we can centralize our plans for the Blight and the Grey Wardens are going to need a foothold of our own in Ferelden in case things go wrong." She explained to the man. "Can the Wardens count on you to help us?"

                Levi looked up startled but with hope. "You mean help rebuild the Keep?"

                Elissa smiled. "I don't know that we can do any rebuilding right away, but cleaning up the lower levels for living and maintaining the keep in working order would be a wonderful start, at least until the Landsmeet."

                Levi nodded his head enthusiastically. "Of course, Your Grace!" He bowed deeply to her. "You can count on my whole family! My brother is a smith, he's trained with Master Wade of Denerim and in my personal opinion makes better weapons than him!"

                Elissa smiled happily. "That's great! I think I'll have a commission for him when he gets here, actually.” Her face darkened slightly. “I will warn you to not go above the floor above. There is a blood mage here who is a warden and is not used to company."

                Levi suddenly looked very nervous. "A blood mage? Aren't they all evil?"

                Elissa shook her head. "Not at all. I am planning on leaving one of us here to work with him, if everything works out that person can be your liaison with him so you won't have to talk to him yourself, if you like?"

                He sighed in relief. "That would be preferable, Your Grace." He looked over at the seemingly sleeping group. "I don't mind normal mages. Your group seems friendly and are very nice." He said with a slightly nervous pitch and tremble in his voice. "But blood magic..."

                "Is no more dangerous than any other type of magic. It is up to the mage to be responsible in how it is used." Elissa told him softly.

                "But the Chantry-" He started to exclaim.

                “Let me be clear about one thing. If the Chantry tried to teach me the sky is blue I would doubt it until I could check for myself." Levi looked at her in disbelief. "The Chantry has grown much larger and more politically powerful than it was ever supposed to get and they are ever reaching for more." She sighed as he continued to stare at her speechlessly. "You can never trust someone when they have amassed that much power and wield it to control and enslave others by fear, rather than serve the people they are supposed to protect. When the people become a secondary concern to the power they wield, they are corrupt and don't deserve to serve the people anymore. I believe the Chantry has reached that stage long ago."

                "But you believe in the Maker, surely!" He exclaimed.

                Elissa smiled. "Yes, I just don't believe in the Divine or her church when it comes to magic or politics." Levi looked uneasy so Elissa bid him goodnight and went to her bedroll.

                While what she had said was true, it wasn't the whole truth. Elissa herself had never heard of blood magic itself being used for good, but she also wasn't a magic expert. Avernus had obviously found a way to stop his Calling. It was a step towards curing the Taint. Hopefully if blood magic was the cure to the Warden blood ritual, it wouldn't need a sacrifice to fuel it. She trusted Cara to look into it with the right frame of mind, but not the ancient mage. Besides, Dryden needed reassurance to live here, and she needed him to run Soldier's Peak for her.

                Wynne laid awake and thought about what Elissa had said. It was obvious that, while devout, Elissa had no love for the Chantry. Wynne, herself, had come in conflict with these rules herself. Losing her child had made her shy away from ever breaking those rules ever again. It was also why she was so quick to caution others away from such actions that could see them experience such pain as she had.

Her advice to Elissa had been meant to ward off such pain and sacrifice when the time came. Instead, Elissa had taken the news in an unexpected way. Had she been dealing with any other noble her advice would likely have been unwelcome but possibly true. Now, after hearing both what Rory had said, and hearing from Elissa about her views on the topics of the Grey Warden Leadership, mages, the Chantry and Alistair, she began to question herself.

                Faith seemed pleased by Elissa's response, while Wynne was mortified and shaken. It was hard for Wynne to know what it was that Faith wished for her to do, as the spirit never spoke. She could often feel impressions of emotion or some of her thoughts felt more intense when Faith tried to communicate.

Faith had encouraged the confrontation upstairs, she had wanted to know where Elissa's own faith would lead her. Wynne had tried to press her to follow the Chantry line she had always followed. Elissa's defense of not only Solona's right to be Warden-Commander, but her relationship with Alistair showed a fortitude and moral conviction Wynne lacked. She had grown so used to being subservient to Irving and Greagoir that it was second nature to bow down. If she wished to be taken seriously she was going to have to abandon this habit with Elissa Cousland.

                In the morning Solona pulled Rory and Cara aside and handed them each one of the golden flowers. "We think this will improve your chances of surviving the Joining." She explained to them quietly.

                Rory nodded his head. "Is this the flower you gave Flynn and Adele?"

                Solona nodded. "Don't take until right before the Joining." She warned. "It's going to make you loopy and possibly make the dream of the Archdemon a little more intense, but better that than death."

                Cara looked scared. "Thank you, Solona." She stammered out. "I know you don't care for me..."

                Solona sighed and shook her head. "I don't care for your choice to become a blood mage."

                Cara bit her lip. "It was either that or die." She said, a tear slowly flowing down her face. "They gave us a choice, either cast a blood spell or become an abomination by force." She whispered.

                Solona's eyes widened. "Why didn't you tell us that before?" She suddenly felt very guilty for how she had been treating Cara. Surrounded by those circumstances she could understand why someone might turn to blood magic. Survival was a very powerful instinct.

                Cara just shook her head. "I killed someone. A templar. I'm not even sure who." Her tears falling faster. "That's why I was on the lower floors. I was trusted because I killed."

                Solona gasped, Rory placed a hand on her shoulder. "It was kill or be killed Cara. That Templar was dead either way." Solona looked at Rory with disbelief. He gave her a sharp look and shook his head, telling her silently to not say anything right now.

                Cara nodded her head still keeping her eyes on the floor. "I know, there were ten more apprentices and enchanters behind me all being asked to do the same. Still I'd never killed anyone before."

                "It's never easy to kill someone." Rory told her comfortingly. "When it does, that's when it's time to worry about your soul." She began to cry a little harder. "You have an opportunity now to atone for his death by saving others as a Grey Warden."

                She wiped her eyes and nodded sadly. "That's the only reason I'm here. You need Wardens."

                Rory nodded. "We do, it's why you were given the choice to become one or die. Believe me Elissa would not have spared you unless she thought you'd actually try to be a good warden."

                Cara and Solona stared at him. "I thought she was just looking for numbers." Cara admitted. Solona was in silent agreement with Cara.

                Rory chuckled sadly. "She would not endanger the mission if she didn't see a purpose for you or your willingness to do the right thing. You proved that when you agreed to go below and guard the young ones." Cara looked surprised. "If you hadn't, or if you had tried to run, Elissa would have cut you down." Both Cara and Solona didn't doubt that last part. Elissa was much more ruthless than either of them.

                Elissa had them and Alistair meet in Avernus's lab. Once they were all together they preformed the ritual. Elissa caught Rory as he fell and Alistair caught Cara while Solona made Warden's oaths for both. Avernus waited until they were awake to give them the added information they did not have.

                "The Archdemon needs to be slain by one of you." He said to the four Wardens. “It has to be a Grey Warden who has under-gone the ritual who slays the beast."

                "Yes that much we know, we don't know how or why though." Alistair said with anticipation. It was nice to actually get answers to his questions instead of being told to he'd find out later.

                "The Archdemon has a corrupted Old God Soul inside of it." Avernus explained dispassionately. "If its body is slain it will enter the closest blight corrupted body. Being a Grey Warden instead of a Darkspawn means the soul of the Old God cannot enter the body without destroying the soul of the Grey Warden. The souls cancel each other out. Both die."

                They all gasped. None of them had expected that. It was silent for a long moment while they all took the information in. Avernus looked pleased with himself and their reaction. "I don't know why this is such a surprise. No slayer has ever survived before." He scoffed.

                Elissa looked away and shook her head trying to forget the words echoing in her head. Both die. She was going to lose either her cousin, best friend or her not-quite lover. She closed her eyes tightly and fisted her hand trying to hold on to her temper.

                "I kind of figured it was something like that." Alistair admitted softly.

                Cara took a deep breath. "I'm on borrowed time anyway." She said bravely.

                Solona nodded and straighten her spine. She looked at Elissa and gave her a meaningful look. "Prophecy trumps the odds."

                Avernus looked sharply at Solona. "What Prophecy?"

                Elissa smiled. "The one that says Thedas is going to need Solona, myself and Alistair for."

                "Me?" Alistair stared at Elissa. She nodded at him but kept silent.

                Avernus looked annoyed but turn to the other two. "One of you will have to die it would seem."

                Rory looked at him passively. "I knew there was a reason I survived Highever." He didn't look concerned with the news.

The mage just shook his head with disgust.

                "Have it your way." He said dismissively with a dramatic wave of his hand. "I will send you with enough ritual potion to create three more Wardens. After that you will need to return here for more. Or you will have to secure the Archdemon vial in the vaults in Denerim."

                Elissa nodded her thanks. "If we get into the city we will secure it. I'd hate to think what could happen if that fell into the wrong hands."

                Avernus grunted with disgust at the lack of reaction his news had generated. After nearly two hundred years he was in need of some excitement. The group had been a disappointment on that front.

                "I am going to need an assistant if I am to complete my experiments before I die." He said with a tone of superiority.

                "Cara, will you be willing to stay and work with him?" Elissa asked her.

                Cara looked unhappy but nodded anyway. "I am the most experienced we have in blood magic so I am the best choice."

                "You will also be in charge of making sure he continues his experiments ethically." Elissa said with a warning glare shot at Avernus.

                "Excellent." He said sarcastically. "I am also in need of supplies." He reminded her.

                Elissa nodded. "There is the man you influenced to come here. He'll be cleaning the bottom of the keep and securing supplies. Cara will let him know what he needs to procure for you and the Keep in general."

                The group quickly made their goodbyes and left the sour old mage to his work. Once they reached the room where they had fought the demons they all sat down in the chairs to discuss what they had learned.

                "I'll be blunt." She told them. "I can't tell you anything more about the prophecy other than that it involves the three of us." She explained pointing to herself, Solona and Alistair. "And the Blight is only the first of several things that are going to be happening to Thedas that we will be involved in."

                "You know the wording now?" Alistair asked Solona.

                She nodded. "We'll talk later." He acknowledge her with a wave.

                Rory and Cara looked uncomfortable. "So it will be up to us to kill this thing." He said quietly, looking at each of them in turn.

                Elissa knew as well as he did, that of the group sitting here, the final blow would likely come down to him. "I'll think of something." She promised him.

                Rory shook his head. "If it happens, it happens Elissa. I am a knight. Saving the world is part of the package of being a Warrior and a Warden." He said sadly. "I won't shirk my duty, Elissa." He told her sternly.

                Elissa looked down at her hands and nodded sharply. Solona and the rest knew Rory had pulled a dirty trick by using the word duty. It seemed unfair that they were deciding this now.

"Look we don't know that it is going to come down to the two of you." Solona spoke, cutting through the uneasy quiet that had fallen over them at Rory's words. "We still have Orzammar and Brecilian Forest to go, and Redcliffe. We might end up with a whole army of Wardens from Orlais, Nevarra and maybe even Weisshaupt before we have to take on the Archdemon."

                Elissa looked up sharply, the rest of the group also perked up. "She's right." Alistair said with a small smile. "Duncan also said I wouldn't have to know about how to kill the Archdemon because it was the duty of the most senior warden on the field to strike the final blow. When the others get here, I am sure there will be Wardens close to their Calling who would rather kill the Archdemon than take a trip to the Deep Roads."

                Elissa blew out a relieved breath. "That's true." She laughed. "And worst case we can drag Avernus's ass to the battle site and make him do it since I am sure he's the oldest Warden in Thedas right now."

                The other laughed with her. Cara finally groaned as they all calmed down. "I'm staying here then." She said turning to Elissa.

                She nodded. "I'm sorry, but I don't trust him... You have the most experience, even if it's mostly only theory in blood magic." She gave her a sympathetic look. "I really am sorry, but on the bright side you'll be spending most of your time down here with Levi and his family."

                Cara smiled. "That's true. A warm bed instead of a tent and Darkspawn."

                Solona looked thoughtful. "There was lots of Elfroot and even some Royal Elfroot and other plants on the trails near here. Maybe you can gather some of that and dry it for later use or make large stockpiles of health potions. If we are going to be fighting an army of Darkspawn every potion could be useful."

                Cara looked even more pleased. "Yes! I noticed spindlewood, crystal grace, embrium, and blood lotus too."

                Elissa thoughtful. "They are valuable as trade, aren't they?"

                Cara almost began to bounce in her seat from excitement. "Yes, especially crystal grace. The flowers have some restorative effects that-"

                Elissa held up her hand with a small laugh. "Ok... I get it." Cara blushed but stopped babbling.

                "Sorry it's just collecting herbs was the only time I was allowed out of the Tower, so it was something I loved to do." She said, still excited by the idea of doing something useful, and familiar, but not overly dangerous. Cara was obviously older, perhaps thirty rather than Solona's seventeen. She must have gone on many such trips since her harrowing.

                "I saw what could be silverite deposits in the cave we came through near the gate too." Rory suggested. "Perhaps have Levi take a look. Even if it ends up being Iron that could be useful too."

                Elissa nodded. "Did Duncan's documents include the schematics for Warden armor?" She asked Alistair.

                He shook his head. "No, but we can leave the sets we have here for his brother to look at. We have all three styles;  Sophia's Commander, Rava's Constable, and my regular for the heavy armor, Duncan's without the rank plate for rogue and medium armor, and Solona's mage gear. Any smith with any skill at all should be able to make schematics from those."

                Elissa nodded. "We'll leave those here then when we leave, along with Cailan's, I should think." She looked for approval from Alistair who quickly agreed. The armor was sized to fit either him or Rory and he knew he didn't want to wear it. It needed to be repaired before it would fit anyone. The ogre had crushed the breastplate beyond wearing at the moment, regardless.  

                Elissa pressed on. “I’d like us all to be ready to fight decked out in Warden Armor when the time comes." They others looked on questioning.

                "Even the non-Warden members of the party? Wouldn't that cause some confusion?" Rory asked.

                Solona looked thoughtful. "It's Wynne, and Morrigan that you're concerned about." She put the question to Elissa.

                She sat back and crossed her arms. "And Leliana. Not so much Sten." She admitted as she leaned back and brought her ankle up over her other knee. “While we know they are part of our group it will make any outsiders not question their involvement at inopportune times." She admitted.

                "Such as if we do meet up with the non-Ferelden Wardens?" Alistair asked catching on to what she was saying.

                Rory nodded his head in agreement. "I think that's a good idea too. From what you've all said, Wardens are very secretive, with good reason. They might not like the others knowing as much as they do and try to conscript them." Seeing where Elissa's concern was coming from. "It will also help to establish our own chain-of-command. The Commander of the outside forces are less likely to break up a group this size that are used to working together. It’s one way to be prepared in case someone decides to pull rank."

                "Exactly." Elissa said. "We are obviously not going to be telling the rest of the party any Warden secrets, but they are all helping us because we need it and they believe in us. I don't want them being forced to join because they overheard something they were not supposed to. I'd rather get them to promise to keep it to themselves."

                "I can see everyone agreeing to that, except for Morrigan." Alistair muttered.

                Solona snorted. "Morrigan is not as bad as you think, Alistair. Besides, outside of us and her mother who is she going to tell?" She gave him a small smile. "It's not like she has any other friends or allies."

                Elissa laughed softly. "And let's face it, Flemeth knew more about the Wardens then you did when you met her, so Morrigan likely knows more than we think. Besides, I'd like to see someone try and force her to join. That would be so very entertaining." Everyone chuckled at the idea of some unsuspecting Warden trying to get one over on the Wilds apostate.

                "Ok... so I am to work with the old scary warden, gather herbs, make potions and tell Levi what we need, which includes Warden armor for each of us, supplies for the keep and to look into the possible silverite deposits outside the gate." Cara listed off her new duties on her fingers, one-by-one. "Anything else?" She asked innocently.

                The rest of them laughed. "Defend the keep from Darkspawn." Suggested Alistair in a teasing tone. "Never know when the blighters are going to burrow up from below." He pretended to shiver in fear.

                Cara scowled at him. "Thanks I needed new fodder for my nightmares." She snarled playfully at him. "Because that Archdemon wasn't enough."

                Everybody grew grim suddenly. "Oh yeah... We need to fill you in on a few things." Alistair said sadly and he fidgeted in his seat. They had trusted Rory so he read the diary, but they didn't trust Cara so they agreed she wasn't to know about the book, even now so Elissa wouldn't get in trouble at a later date. Cara was as clueless about the Wardens as Alistair had been at his Joining.

                Cara groaned. "All right hit me. I know you guys were hiding the consequences of joining from me." She sat back and grew slowly paler as she heard from each of them about all the things being a Grey Warden entailed. Elissa nearly snorted as everyone skirted around the one 'enhancement' that no one mentioned.

                "The last enhancement that is tied to the increased stamina is the enhanced sex drive." Elissa statement matter-of-factly. Rory turned to her quickly and Alistair blushed a deep red.

                "I'm sorry what?" Rory asked, he was a bit surprised by the last one. "I didn't see that!"

                Solona too looked a little concerned. "I didn't either."

                Alistair blushed even deeper and covered his face with his hands. Elissa bit her lip to keep from laughing. "I learned about the last bit from Alistair actually." He groaned and bowed his head as everyone turned to stare at him in disbelief. "He said it hits about... two months after the change, was it?" She looked over at him to check her facts.

                He groaned once more and looked at her defiantly. "Yes, the others said their drives increased by about the second month." He confirmed with a pout.

                Cara looked confused. "But yours didn't?" Rory managed to hold back his laughter, and Elissa choked as she gasped, Solona managed to hide hers in a fake sounding coughing fit.

                Alistair shot Elissa a dirty look. She blushed and looked ashamed for even bringing up his name in regards to the subject. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to..." Cara stammered.

                He growled and looked annoyed. "Yes, mine did too." He admitted. “And I don’t know how long it goes on for since mine hasn’t died off.” He added with a flushed disgruntled look.

                Elissa cleared her throat. "Well... On that note I think that covers everything." She stated, standing quickly and started heading for the stairs. She had been hoping to outrun Rory's sense of humor, unfortunately he was faster.

                "So how much of an increase are we talking about here?" He asked Alistair as he slung his arm over his shoulder. "Double, triple?" Elissa heard his first comment before she managed to escape out of earshot. She hightailed it out of the keep not wanting to hear any more, including Alistair's response.

                Alistair groaned and tried to pull away. "I don't know." He scowled at Rory. "I wasn't exactly paying attention before that."

                Rory chuckled. "You have to have some idea." Cara and Solona shook their heads laughing together as they walked down the stairs together. 

                Alistair was looking intently at Rory and didn't notice the girls had all left. "The sisters at the Chantry I was training at were really old, and then I was recruited into an Order full of men." His blush finally receded a little bit. "There wasn't exactly any women to catch my notice while training in the compound at Denerim or while stationed at Ostagar. Nor any that I wanted to be with, honestly."

                Rory smiled fondly at the man. "Until Elissa." He said knowingly.

                Alistair pulled away from Rory's strong grip this time and shook his head a little angrily. "What I feel for Elissa has nothing to do with this."

                Rory sobered and took a step back. "Whoa Alistair, relax. I was just teasing you, mostly." He said trying to calm him down.

                Alistair sighed and looked away, still more than a little embarrassed by the topic. "I honestly don't know what to tell you."

                Rory nodded. "Ok I get it." He held up his hands letting Alistair know he was backing off.

                Alistair made sure Cara and Solona were out of the room before he sighed with defeat. "Easily double and..." He cleared his throat as he tried to think of the right word, "persistent." He finally said.

                Rory looked confused. "Persistent?"

                Alistair wouldn't look at him. "As in once isn't enough to... calm down."

                Rory's eyes sparkled with mischief. "Ah, that's good to know. Like being eighteen again, nice!"

                "I shouldn't have said anything." Alistair groaned.

                Rory laughed. "When Elissa and you do decide to share a tent, just make sure it's on the other side of the camp from me alright." He said with a wrinkle of his nose. "No one should have to hear that from someone they consider a sister."

                Alistair smirked back. "Keep that in mind if you go near Sole next month."

                Rory's eyes widened. "I... Oh... She's..."

                Alistair nodded with a raised brow of his own mischief. He was happy to have finally caught Rory off-guard. "She's going to have to go through it too. Sooner than you."

                "And Cara..." Rory said with wide eyes.

                "She at least will be here." Alistair finished with a grin. "So we won't have to hear any of it."

                "Damn." Rory swore. "I wasn't even considering Sole, at least beyond looking." He said with frown. "Elissa will kill me for playing around with family. Not that Sole's not great, but we're not..." He tried to explain his feelings, while he had no problem being with her sexually, or anything, he knew that marriage and kids were not on Solona's agenda. Both were deal breakers for Rory who did want both eventually. This was the main reason despite being attracted to her he was keeping her strictly in the friends and family zone.

                "Well, Sole's a mage." Alistair said, really getting uncomfortable with the topic once more.

                "Yeah and?" Rory asked, not understanding the reference.

                "They... ah... well they... tend to not form attachments to their lovers... in the Circles." He finally managed to spit out.

                "So what... she might be want to just be friends and tent-mates?" Rory asked. He frowned deeply. "I thought she was in love with that Templar... Cullen. I doubt she'd want to move on so quickly anyway, increased sex drive or not."

                Alistair took a step away. "Look... just don't ask me, ok. That's just what I used to hear in the Chantry from the older Templars, that it was common for some mages to do that." He looked disturbed at the thought. "She might not be like that though. She's still pretty young."

                Rory nodded and they both decided to pretend the second half of their conversation didn't happen.

                Levi left the next morning to summon his family from nearby Amaranthine. The family was expected to be ready to move to the keep within the week and be setup in a month at most. Not wanting to leave Cara by herself with Avernus immediately after her Joining the party agreed to stay and help clear the keep and courtyard of bodies. Since the bodies were all decayed the pyre didn't burn long, but the castle was cleared of the dead within two days. Solona and Cara had great fun playing with their magic, finding new ways to use their spells. They used a small tempus spell to blow all the dirt into a large pile that was easier to clear out and then a mix of fire and ice to wash the floors and fill the tubs so everyone got a chance to have a hot bath after each day of cleaning.

                Four days later Levi returned. He'd borrowed a horse to get there and back quickly. With someone else there and the main floor of the keep clear Cara was feeling much better about being left behind with all the Party's extra  gear.

                "Are you sure you're going to be ok here?" Elissa asked her. "I feel really bad leaving you behind."

                Cara smiled sadly at her. "You have given me more than you can possibly imagine." She said with a wistful look towards the rest of the party. "I know with Senior Enchanter Wynne and Solona and Alistair in your group... I'm a better fit here, doing what I can to preserve the old man’s research so no one tries to learn what he did the same way again. I can help here better, doing things for you and the Wardens then I can going with you and causing strife in the group."

                Elissa felt even guiltier. Solona had started to come around about her since she had forsworn using blood magic again. Wynne hadn't said much of anything to anyone since their argument. Alistair had still been wary and despite being so close to Solona he'd slipped a bit and acting like templar with Cara for a day or two before Solona grabbed him by the ear and dragged him away for a little chat about it. Alistair had apologized but Cara and he had kept their distance from each other.

                "I really do appreciate that." She told her with a genuine smile, which made Cara smile too. "And don't worry about the others. Alistair is like you, trying to learn to live without the Chantry dictating his every move or thought." She told her.

                Cara shivered. "I know. Still I will feel better when he's not watching me."

                Elissa didn't take offence. She hated when she was being watched as a child by the knights. She was sympathetic.  "By the time we return I hope to have him broken of that habit." She chuckled.

                Cara looked down in shame. "He has a reason to watch me." She shuffled uncomfortably.

                "You made a mistake and you are doing everything you can to make up for it." Elissa told her supportively. "You are doing everything you can, and here you can do the most good." She looked back at the Party and particular Wynne, she scowled slightly. "Besides I think you'll be happier here away from her." She said as she rolled her eyes.

                Cara looked up and chuckled. "Wynne has always been like that. Always preaching, used to drive apprentices away from spirit healing. There was only really six apprentices that took it seriously. Solona was the best apprentice. She's good at ignoring her preaching too."

                Elissa smiled. "Just be glad she isn't trying to teach you now. Sole has to listen to her to learn more."

                Cara laughed. "I feel bad for her then, especially starting next month!"

                Elissa blushed and quickly handed her the keys they'd found for the Keep. "We are heading back towards Orzammar. The ambassador is most likely gone by now. I can't see him hanging around outside the gates for this long." She sighed. "I just hope we aren't too late to talk to the King."

                Cara gave her a hopeful smile. "Good luck. And thank you for staying until Levi returned."

                Elissa nodded. "His wife and brother should be here in a week."

                 "They are bringing the supplies and the thinner wagons Levi built for the road here." Cara explained.

                Elissa nodded. "And please give Levi's brother my commission for the sword with the star metal when he gets here."

                Cara smiled. "Of course."

                "We'll see you soon." Elissa said as she stepped back.

                "Take care of yourself, and the others." Cara said. Her face crumpled slightly but held her head up proudly.

                "We'll come back as soon as we are done in Orzammar." Elissa promised before she walked away.

 

3rd of Justinian

On the North Road

               

                The woman couldn't be more obvious if she'd tried. Rory and Elissa had both rolled their eyes and held the others back. Solona and Alistair had been ready to charge forward.

                "It's an ambush." Rory told them calmly. "Wynne, hold back and be ready to shield and heal Elissa, she'll be their first target." Wynne nodded and stood back. "Leliana, target the archers, Sole, the raised ridge on the right, Morrigan, the left. Alistair and I will charge the center. Sten, Shale, charge and attack where the strongest fighters are. Adele and Flynn, wait for the spells to stop then charge the ridge fighters."

                Everyone got into position and attacked without waiting for the ambush to start. The set-up was a professional job. It was obvious to anyone who studied ambush tactics. It was, however, made for attacking a much smaller group. Either the assassin was misinformed about the size of the group or he hadn't been given enough time to research the target.

                The dogs barely had a chance to take anyone down. Elissa had been hit with six crossbow bolts from the two sides in the first few seconds, but the barrier Wynne had cast on her had held and she'd gotten away from the battle with a few bruises by the end. Alistair and Sten had both gotten caught in foot traps, while Alistair's had held him in place for a bit, Sten's had been ripped from the ground and barely slowed him at all. Shale had just walk through them leaving mangled metal behind. The battle was over easily.

                Leliana was the one to notice that the elf was still alive. Elissa's hit to his head had knocked him unconscious, not killed him. The dent in his light helm was impressive, the elf had been very talkative and very forthcoming with his mission, and his willingness to join them. His reasons seemed true enough, although the whole ambush seemed wrong.  Elissa and Leliana spoke briefly.    

                "What do you think?" Elissa asked her.

                "Something is not right. His manner is all wrong for someone who failed." The ex-bard said with an awareness Elissa had not seen from the seemingly flighty Chantry Sister before now. “Either he wanted to fail or it was a suicide mission. A master doing away with him or setting it up to fail, either way he expected to die, I believe." Leliana's assessment matched her own. She decided to bring him along, although she had promised to allow others a chance to voice their opinions so she called for Rory, Alistair and Solona to join them. Wynne came over and stood by Solona.

                Sten, Shale and the dogs stayed to guard him. "Opinions on bringing him along?"

                "Absolutely not!" Alistair started. "He tried to kill you!"

                "He did not do a good job of it." Leliana pointed out. "As a crow mission, this is very amateurish."

                Solona looked confused. "So he's not a very good assassin?"

                Leliana shook her head. "No. I think he failed on purpose." She stated matter-of-factually.

                "Why?" Solona asked.

                Leliana shook her head. "I have no idea why, but a Crow as experienced as he suggested himself to be should never have tried to do this small of an ambush. He should have checked to see how many of us there were at the very least before doing this." She looked around. "This was designed to kill four at most, not a party of our size and experience."

                "I know I'm new to the outside world but are the Crows really that good?" Solona asked.

                Everyone nodded with varying degrees of certainty. "They're considered the best there is." Elissa told her. "If they take a contract the target is dead. I'm surprised they took one for a Grey Warden."

                Leliana shook her head. "The news of the blight must not have reached them yet. If it had, the contract would likely not have been accepted. It might have already been rescinded or that might be why he failed on purpose. The client might be someone they do not wish to offend, so they sent him to make the attempt but not succeed."

                "Surely you are not suggesting we bring a trained killer along with us!" Wynne exclaimed.

                Leliana sighed. "Something about this whole thing doesn't seem right. It would be prudent to bring him along and learn more."

                Elissa was quietly agreeing with Leliana. Of the group she could see only Leliana and herself were strongly of the opinion to bring the assassin along with them. It was an acceptable risk in her opinion, between the two dogs and Shale, it would be impossible for the elf to kill all three wardens, especially if he tried for Elissa herself first. There was also the Rogue portion of the Prophecy on her mind. Zevran could be the Rogue. She was careful to keep that thought to herself for right now.

                Solona looked at Elissa in disbelief. "You have got to be kidding!"

                Rory sighed and moved so he was standing behind her. "You better know what you're doing." He muttered to her as he placed a hand on her shoulder. When Alistair figured out she was completely serious about wanting to bring the flirty elf along he was going to explode.

                Wynne's mouth narrowed into a thin line but she walked away towards the dogs, knowing her opinion would not count for much right now. Alistair looked like Elissa had run him through with her sword. Morrigan was looking very amused and also had moved to support Elissa. That left her staring down both Solona and Alistair.

                "NO! Absolutely not!" Alistair said once more.

                Solona bit her lip. "Why?"

                "We need another rogue, and his skills are stronger where Leliana's aren't." Elissa explained. "He's better with daggers, and so he can help you with those skills. If he's any good as an assassin then he will be good at locks and stealth. And to be honest we might need his skills as an assassin before this is all said and done."

                Solona just gapped at her. "You want to bring him along for me and to use against Loghain?"

                "He is trying to kill us!" Alistair emphasized again. "Why is this not important to you?"

                "Between all of us I'm sure we can figure out if we can trust him within a few days." Elissa sighed. "And yes I know it's a risk, but we need every bit of help we can get. Sole you need someone who specializes in daggers if we are ever going to get you to stop using a staff."

                Solona scowled. "I happen to like using a staff." She snapped at her.

                Elissa gave her a pleading look. "Sole, you can't use a staff with that armor."

                Alistair was tired of being ignored and got right up in Elissa's face. "What part of he tried to kill you do you not understand?"

                Everyone quickly backed away from the two. No one had ever seen Alistair be this aggressive outside of battle. Even Elissa took half a step back in surprise, but she quickly recovered and stepped back into his space. Alistair reached out a grabbed her biceps and was nearly shaking her, as his own body shook with rage. Elissa brought her hands up and over his arms before delivering a downward thrust that scrapped their armor loudly and made Alistair drop his hold.

                "First of all, I know he made a poor excuse for an attempt on my life." Elissa snapped.

                "Six crossbow bolts at close range is not a poor attempt!" He yelled back.

                Elissa ignored his comeback, although it was a valid point. "Secondly, we need his skills."

                "Not at the expense of you or our mission." Alistair cried.

                "And third I agree with Leliana, something is not right and I want to know what." Elissa pressed.

                "So interrogate him, then kill him." Alistair stated with his arms crossed.

                Elissa raised a brow. "Are you willing to kill an unarmed man?"

                Alistair looked away for a moment before he took a deep breath and then looked her hard in the eyes. "If I have to."

Elissa could see how much that admission cost him. She stared back at him, hoping he would break first, just as she was about to turn away he broke. He looked away.

                "Just because the Grey Wardens are known for doing anything to defeat the Darkspawn doesn't mean we should thrown away every bit of integrity we have." He said softly before he turned and walked away from her. He left the camp area heading back to where they had left the horses and merchant caravan when they dismounted to approach the battle site.

                Elissa watched him go. She felt a tear fall down her cheek. His disappointment in her hurt. She knew they needed someone with Zevran's skills. She knew the elf was going to be trouble. She just hadn't expected Alistair to be so emphatic about his disapproval. He never had been before.

                She marched over to the elf and grabbed him by the ear and twisted.  He yelped loudly and tried to lighten the pressure on his ear by moving with the twisting. She pulled him close and snarled. "One wrong move and I'll kill you myself. One wrong word and I'll gut you. One single move towards any of my wardens and you'll never take another breath. Are we clear?"

                "Yes Commander." He yelped. Elissa released his ear and the elf quickly allowed himself to fall to the ground once more.    "She is a little feisty." He said in awe once she was far enough away to not hear him.

                "I wouldn't say another word about her." Rory warned the elf. "Elissa Cousland is not someone to cross."

                "Cousland?" The elf looked startled. "We were not told the contract was on a Cousland." Zevran looked concerned now. "We had already turned down several attempts for the Cousland contract." He told Rory. "The Crows know nothing of this but when they learn the contract will be cancelled, I can assure you." He said quickly.

                Rory looked curious but it was Leliana who asked him about it. "Why is that?"

                "Because my dear beautiful redheaded goddess, The Couslands are not a family we are allowed to take contracts on." Zevran said while winking at Leliana.

                "You still did not say why." Leliana said with a giggle.

                "Even the Crows need a certain level of stability to operate, and in Ferelden the Couslands are that stability." Zevran said seriously. "With your king's bloodline dead, the Couslands are Ferelden. Without them the country will once more be Orlais in a matter of years. And while that is good for business, it is best we not be seen as playing politics at that level, or we become too powerful to be tolerated."

                "There is only one Cousland left in the world and you just tried to kill her." Rory said, his voice deceptively calm.

                Zevran sighed and looked away. "It was bad enough to take the contract on a warden, something we usually do not do, but to find out she is the last Cousland, the Crows will be angry."

                "And still your life is forfeit." Leliana stated calmly.

                "Yes, even if it is best I failed, the Crows cannot allow me to live." He shrugged. "I knew this when I accepted the contract."

                "So what happens now?" Rory asked him.

                "That would be up to the Wardens." He said as he looked towards Alistair as he came back to camp leading the horses. Alistair still wasn't looking at Elissa and she was avoiding him.

                Rory decided to interfere again for Elissa's sake, goodness knows she needed Alistair right now. "Flirt with her, or annoy the angry warden and you will be dead by my hand, if they don't gut you first." He waited for the elf to nod his understanding. "Prove you can be trusted and I'll back you becoming a Warden yourself."

                Zevran looked startled. "A warden? Me?"

                Rory nodded. "You said the Crows don't like messing with Couslands or Wardens, prove we can trust you and you'll gain the protection of both." He let that sink in. When the Elf's eyes lit with hope for the first time since they met. "You want that, don't fuck up."

                He looked up at the ex-Knight and nodded. "You have my word. I will be forever in service to the Wardens if they will have me."

                "Hand over all your weapons to Leliana and then we'll see." Rory said as he walked away to talk to Alistair. Leliana calmly took control of Zevran and helped him disarm before removing his bonds and leading him over to her horse. Since she was the one who supported his involvement she was taking responsibility for him.

                Alistair saw Rory coming. "You going to support him too?" He asked, the heat of his gaze not matching the defeated slump of his shoulders.

                Rory shrugged. "I think he needs to prove himself, but I'm not going to judge him for doing what he was trained from childhood to do. He has a choice now. If he screws up I'll kill him."

                Alistair looked away and tried to keep his temper under control. "He tried to kill her. I can't let that go."

                Rory looked at him. "What is it that bothers you so much about today? It's not the first time someone tried to kill us and we spared them." Both knew he was talking about Cara. Alistair hadn't responded half as badly then as he was now.

                "Six crossbow bolts, one would have taken her in the forehead." He whispered with a shudder. "I could have lost her and she's all I have."

                Rory swallowed his own fear as he pictured what could have happened. That Alistair had seen that explained his inability to let it go. "Just concentrate on the fact we all survived because we knew what we are doing."

                "But I didn't." He said with his head hanging. "I would have charged in."

                "You'll learn." Rory said placing his hand on Alistair's shoulder. "You'll never charge in like that again."

                "No, I won't."

                Rory gave him a grim smile. "At least you learned without anyone getting hurt. I can't say the same."

                Alistair wasn't sure what to say. "I'm sorry."

                Rory smiled. "Don't worry. An arrow to the leg is a great motivator for learning."

                "You took an arrow?" He asked.

                Rory shook his head. "No. Elissa did. She's got a round wound in her upper right thigh. That's the bolt she took because I wasn't paying enough attention to my surroundings."

                Alistair nodded. "Thank you."

                Rory clapped him on the shoulder. "Next stop, Elissa."

Alistair looked a little green at the idea of talking to her.

                "What should I say to her?" He asked looking at his feet.

                Rory chuckled. "You don't. Let her come to you." He advised him. "She wanted you to stand up for yourself. If you back off and apologize you take a step back. Don't do it."

                "That doesn't sound like a good idea." He said uncertainly.

                "You made her proud today, Alistair, or at least she will be once she calms down. It might have been your fear talking, but you spoke well and you had a good point. She needs to see you stand up and not back down." He told him. Alistair still looked unsure. "I promise by this evening she'll be ready to talk, and things will be all good." He gave Alistair's shoulder a light punch. "She gets mad and her temper burns hot, but it burns out quickly too."

                Alistair looked back at where Elissa was mounting her horse but not looking at anyone or speaking. She looked frustrated, angry and confused. "Let her chew on it. She needs to know you'll stand up to her." Alistair trusted Rory knew what he was talking about and left her alone for the rest of the day.

                In camp that night both Elissa and Solona asked him to walk with them. Alistair got up and followed them silently. He felt really uncomfortable while the other two lead him away from camp. Once they were far enough away from the group that they knew they wouldn't be overheard Elissa stopped them.

                "Look I owe you both an explanation." She said with a quiet but intense voice. "But first, I'm glad you both spoke up." She took a deep breath. "I need you both to do that." Alistair was glad to hear her say it. It was one thing for Rory to say it but hearing it from her relieved him.

                Solona wasn't as happy about it, she crossed her arms. "For all the good it did. You still don't listen to either of us."

                Elissa paused, and she tried to keep her frustration from showing. "You want me to listen to you when it comes to magic." Solona nodded, "Then I need you both to trust me when Leliana and I make choices based on our knowledge of politics."

                "Even if we disagree." Alistair finally said. "Do you even know why we don't want him here?"

                "You were clear about why." She looked away, unable to hold his gaze. His emotions were still very close to the surface.

                "What if next time he tries to kill you, we don't stop it?"Alistair asked her. "What happens then?"

                Elissa turned to Solona. "He's a rogue." She said softly.

                Solona glared at her. "So what? He's not the only rogue in the world Elissa!"

                "Whoa. What are you both talking about?" Alistair broke in before Solona took a swing at Elissa.

                "The Prophecy says I need a Rogue like she needs you." Solona told him.

                "It says a rogue, not an assassin?" He asked. "So he's not the one you need." He said standing shoulder to shoulder with Solona staring at Elissa.

                "We don't know that!" Elissa cried out in frustration. "We need to find each one."

                "You are focusing too much on the Prophecy Elissa." Solona sighed. "Yes it's important but it's not the end all be all of every decision we make. You might be Queen but I haven't been made Hero yet!"

                "But he could be..." She started to defend herself

                "And he might not!" Solona snapped, cutting off her explanation. "I certainly don't think so. And if one of us was going to know that it would be me, don't you think?"

                Elissa finally let her uncertainty show. "We have to try..."

                "No we don't. But you've already decided to bring him along." Alistair said still not looking at her.

                "I'll allow it this time but next time we add anyone to this party, we all agree, and Rory too, or no go." Solona said with a slash of her hand. "We are all Wardens, we have the right to decide who we bring to fight with us."

                Elissa nodded sadly. "Alright." Solona turned and stalked back to camp leaving Elissa and Alistair alone. "I'm sorry." She whispered to him after a few minutes of silence.

                Alistair turned and grabbed her, pulling her to his chest. "Do you have any idea how hard it was to see that arrow come so close to killing you?" She could feel the resurging, raw fear in how tightly he was holding her.

                "I didn't even notice, I just saw a flash from the barrier. I knew it would protect me and never thought about it." She whispered as she clung to him. "I'm sorry."

                "Please don't ask me to trust him." He sighed finally letting his embrace loosen but still not letting go. "I can't."

                "Ok.” She sighed. "I won't ask you to." They stayed that way for a while. It had been a long time since Elissa had apologized for anything she was actually sorry for. It had been a long time since she had someone whose opinion mattered to her outside of her family or Rory. Alistair was one person she never wanted to be disappointed in her again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to keep posting but disabled messages and emails.


	10. Orzammar

                They took the same route back to Orzammar that they'd taken when they left. This time when they arrived the dwarven guards at the door had been doubled, and there was only two soldiers belonging to Loghain waiting and looking very bored off to the side. They had no gear with them, which meant they had a camp, likely with more men nearby. The guards were far enough away that Elissa could get close enough to talk in low voices without being overheard.

                "Hail Serah." Elissa said softly.

                "I'm sorry, but the doors of Orzammar are closed until a new king is crowned." The guard said in a remote tone, as if he'd repeatedly told this to everyone and was tired of having to repeat himself.

                Elissa winced and heave a sigh. "I am sorry for your loss Serah." She replied softly. "We hadn't heard that, only that the King had been sick."

                The guard nodded in acceptance of the condolences. "It will be sometime before the coronation of the new king can be organized."

                Elissa acknowledged him. "I am going to show you something that might change things for us, but please don't say anything that Loghain's men over there can overhear." She explained before pulling out Duncan's Grey Warden Commander Seal. She'd had a feeling she would need it this morning.

                The Dwarf looked surprised, but quickly recovered. "The Wardens are always welcome in our halls, even at times like these." He said quietly, understanding why she was being discrete.

                Elissa smiled in thanks. "Perhaps we can pretend we have items needed to help with the succession debate as an excuse to be allowed in. We are a very diverse group and not all wardens yet."

                The guard looked over towards the party standing with the dwarf merchants across the merchant encampment. He growled slightly. "That merchant, Bodahn cannot enter, and he should not stay here while you are inside. But all Wardens and their recruits are welcome in Orzammar at anytime."

                Elissa nodded again. "I'll be back shortly with the rest, and I'll send Bodahn away." She bowed and backed away.

                She smirked as she approached the party. "We're in." She announced softly. "Bodahn, if you could go back to Kinloch Hold, or Soldier's Peak and help them out there. We can meet up again once we are done here. "

                "Of course, Serah." He said with a bow."My boy and I can make much profit, and gather information for you while you are here." He dwarven merchant had been more than pleased with his profits and adventures he'd been a part of since joining the party. More important to Bodahn was the fact they valued his son and treated him with respect and kindness. Even the evil looking Wilds Witch watched interested when Sandal enchanted his runes. Elissa had not judged him for his scavenging either, in fact they party had done the same and sold the items to him at fair exchanges. In sending him to Kinloch and Soldier's Peak he could both help her, and make profits helping the Tower.

                Elissa looked relieved. "That was the good news, the bad news the king died; there is no king at the moment."

                "What does that mean for us?" Solona asked anxiously.

                 "We could be here for quite some time," She explained exasperated with the political maneuverings that might be involved with this level of politics, "and if we want to be unnoticed we are not going to be able to come and go. Once we enter those doors we are there until we deliver the treaty to the new king." She warned.

                "I will deliver that message to Cadet Cara for you Commander." Bodahn bowed to her. "Last time it took four months, and eight assassinations before the Old King was ratified." That news was disturbing for quite a few of the party, but Elissa wasn't surprised, she'd known that already.

                "Only eight? That was an easy ascension then."She said incensed. "Hopefully this one will be just as easy and quicker."

                "Wait we are going to be underground for how long?" Alistair asked, his was astonished by the idea of so much time during a Blight being wasted.

                Elissa looked grim, "As long as it takes. Hopefully it won't take months this time."

                "You said months!" Alistair exclaimed. "We can't ignore the Blight that long!"

                Solona looked away with frustration. "At least when we are done here Loghain will likely be too busy to be looking for us. We'll be out of sight where no one will be able to report back on us."

                Rory agreed. "As a bonus we can apply some pressure by telling them there is an Archdemon somewhere in the Deep Roads. They will be more likely to pressure a vote if they know they might have to face it."

                "We will do just that. Any pressure we can apply we will. I just need to figure out who are being considered for King and who to side with. Last I heard there were three heirs; and the oldest was considered an isolationist. Not a good candidate for us." She explained.

                "If I may Serah," Bodahn interrupted. "But with the recent events there is only one heir to the throne left. The others were killed only about a month ago."

                Elissa growled and rubbed her forehead in frustration. "Well that should cut down on the amount of time, unless there is more than one challenger." This was why she hated Orzammar politics. You never knew who was going to still be alive in the morning.

                "According to rumors only Lord Harrowmont is challenging the Prince." Bodahn told her. "He was the old King Endrin's High General. He's also not a good replacement for the surface and Ferelden. He too is an isolationist, and likely the source of the Old Prince's views. Additional he would have been bad for the poorest of Dwarves. "

                Elissa raised a brow at his assessment. "What makes you say so?"

                "You must understand the Dwarven caste system to understand." He said sadly.

                "I know the basics." She told him. "Very basically there are clan expectations, merchant clans, noble clans, smith clans and such and then there are the casteless." She explained to the others. "What occupation you have it determined by the family you are born into. Needless to say most Carta Dwarves are casteless." The party was quietly watching the exchange but she could see most of them were following along.

                "It is much more complicated than that." Bodahn retorted politely.

                Elissa grinned. "I know, but we don't have time to explain much more than that."

                Bodahn once more bowed his head to acknowledge her, and he caught her meaning to speed things along. "Lord Harrowmont would see us continue to hold the traditions that have decimated the Dwarves; reducing us to a single city here and one more named Kal-Sharok near the Hunterhorn Mountains, on the border of the Anderfels and Nevarra."

                "What is the political stance of the last living Prince?" Elissa asked.

                Bodahn looked thoughtful. "He at least is willing to change the way things are. He's of the opinion Orzammar needs more trade with the surface, and he's willing to do away with the casteless by allowing them to join the army."

                Elissa was suspicious. "There has to be a catch. This is Orzammar."

                Bodahn shrugged. "To human morals Prince Bhelen will not be appealing because he is rumored to have had his older brother killed, and his sister framed for the murder and sent to the Deep Roads, which is the current form of the Death Sentence in Orzammar."

                "That is horrible!" Alistair gasped.

                "That's Dwarven politics unfortunately." Elissa sighed. "I can see why it would be a concern. Still he is the Prince, and as such he is the rightful Heir." She turned back to Bodahn "From what you've said he is the best candidate for Ferelden once the Blight is over."

                Alistair looked at her in surprise. "He is? But he's a murderer!"

                "Only according to rumors, but there was no proof." She bowed her head and pinched the bridge of her nose. "We'll have to see how the public is leaning but hopefully they will be done quickly." She brought her head back up and placed a hand on Bodahn's shoulder. "Thank you for your advice. I know being here is difficult for you."

                "Think nothing of it Serah." He bowed with respect and a smile for her. "I'll see you when you return." With that he walked back to his wagon, and began to pack up their things for the return trip in the morning. The Party quickly unpacked their supplies from the wagon and horses.

                "What should we do with them since we'll be gone so long?" Solona asked as she placed her gear inside her backpack.

                "There are no real arrangements for long term." Elissa looked around for a solution, not finding one she looked towards the wagon sadly. "Bodahn is going to have to lead them back to Kinloch Hold stable for us." She looked back at the merchant with concern.

                Solona followed her gaze. "Some of us should go with him." She said uncertainly. "He'll need extra protection on the roads, in particular if he has extra horses."

                Elissa agreed with her. "We should spare at least two." She looked back at the party, who do you suggest we send?"

                Solona looked back at the group. "Sten will be a good guard. He's big enough and intimidating, which would make him a better choice to leave behind."

                Elissa nodded and looked over the rest of the party. "Good choice, who else do you suggest?"

                Solona blushed as she realized she was being cornered into make her first command decision. "Morrigan; we are going into a political situation and she is too abrasive. Also her magic would be useful to them if they get in a bad situation. She can heal very minor wounds now too." It was also a chance to get rid of the mage for a while so she could openly look at and discuss the grimore without worrying she would see it.

                Elissa smirked but didn't laugh. She was amused by Solona's weird flip-flopping of liking and hating Morrigan. "That one would be my choice too, but for different reasons."

                "Her comments to Alistair are annoying you?" Solona asked with a half-hidden smile of her own.

                Elissa actually laughed this time. "I find the two of them funny to be honest. I swear she acts like a little boy tormenting her crush in the play area."

                Solona laughed and poked her in her side. "Imagine if Alistair had long hair, she'd be pulling his braids."

                Elissa started to picture Alistair with longer hair but her mind flashed to Cailan's dead body hung naked from the pole at Ostagar. She shivered and cleared her throat. "Anyone else you think should stay?"

                Solona cleared her throat, unsure why Elissa so suddenly changed directions on her. She looked back at their companions once more. "As much as I want to say Zevran, we can't let him out of our sight yet."

                "Leliana uses a bow and down below that will be a liability." Elissa reasoned.

                "I was thinking the same thing. I also trust her to look after our concerns." Solona bit her lip. "But I was honestly thinking Rory should stay up here too."

                Elissa blinked several times trying to hide her surprise. "Why?"

                "They should have a Warden in case of Darkspawn raids." Solona said with certainty. "He'll gain his sensing ability soon, and that will be a huge help."

                "That's more people than I feel comfortable leaving behind." Elissa admitted.

                Solona sighed. "I know. I could make a case for Wynne being left behind too, but we are likely to need her if Orzammar is as tough a place as it sounds. Better to have two healers, less likely we can both be neutralized." She looked back at the group once more. "Let's send Leliana, Sten and Morrigan then."

                Elissa nodded, she fully agreed with her choices, but she wanted to hear Solona’s logic in choosing them. "Why those party members?"

                "It's a balance of skills and intimidation factors." Solona said with certainty. "While they don't have a Warden with them for sensing the Darkspawn they also don't have one to work as a beacon for them to draw them in to attack. We also have to consider the dogs. Honestly I want to leave them here, but if we are gone for months they will become upset."

                Elissa shook her head. "They won't go at all. Side-missions when they are nearby are easy but they already know we are talking long-term and they will stay with us regardless of orders." She said to explain Mabari loyalty to Solona.

                She nodded her acceptance. "Well that was my assessment."

                Elissa smiled brightly. "I suggest you give the troops their orders then, Warden-Constable." She said with a wink.

                Solona looked surprised but she laughed it off. "Awful free with titles aren't we?"

                "Someone has to step-up, and so far that person is you." Elissa told her seriously. "You can count on Rory in a battle situation, only because it's second-nature to him now, same with Alistair. Both will also give you advice, but right now neither has the drive to take command. Rory doesn't want it and Alistair is convinced no one would follow him, or listen, because he doesn't have the right to lead."

                "We'll work on that." Solona said with a smile before she walked towards the group. She called over Morrigan, Sten and Leliana and explained that she wanted them to stay with Bodahn and gather information and help Cara when possible. Leliana had looked over at Elissa for confirmation and she had nodded her agreement. Leliana had then enthusiastically agreed and almost pushed a protesting Morrigan towards the horses. Sten had looked at Solona for a moment before he gave her a small nod of acceptance and walked over to his large charger. The reduced group turned towards the gates

                Elissa had been hoping to get into Orzammar without any drama but that was not meant to be. . Elissa ordered the dogs to stay out of sight of the soldiers if possible and they ran off and circled to steps to stay in the soldiers blind-spot as Loghain's guards seeing half their group getting ready to depart and the rest of them heading towards the gate had come to the gates and demanded to know what was going on.

                "That is of no concern to you." The gate guardian was telling the soldiers as Elissa and her party consisting of Alistair, Solona, Rory and Elissa in full plate, followed by Zevran in medium armor and Wynne in her Circle robes, and then Shale without armor approached.

                The guard's eyes landed on Shale and he smiled. "The Assembly has agreed to allow you in to present your gift to the new King."

                Elissa smiled and faked an Orlisian accent. "Merci ." She thanked him and began to walk forward when Loghain's man grabbed her arm.

                "You're letting some Orlisian bitch in, but not the King of Ferelden's ambassador?" He snapped.

                The gate guardian gave him a cold look. "When the King of Ferelden is actually crowned, and sends a gift of this caliber, then and only then will we consider allowing you in."

                "Uncouth Dog Lord," Elissa sniffed as she turned up her nose and walked past the astonished guard. The rest of the party managed to get into the gate before they began to laugh, even the dogs that circled around behind them. Elissa’s insult was even funnier to the group because of the dogs in their party.

                "Did you see his face?" Alistair managed to puff out as he laughed holding his middle. Even Wynne who had kept to herself since the Keep was laughing out loud. The dwarves in the Hall of Paragons were staring at the laughing group with astonishment and disgust.

                "I haven't heard you pull that fake Orlisian accent and attitude since the bitch... what's her name the Arl's wife was bitching about Nan's cooking." Rory wiped tears of mirth from his eyes.

                "Isolde." Alistair supplied, still chuckling.

                "I am never going to remember that over-bred bitch's name." Rory laughed. He was leaning against Alistair to hold himself upright.

                "Unfortunately I'll never forget it." Alistair said cheerfully, chuckling more to himself than with the group.

                "I am uncertain what the gift was it was suppose to be bringing into the City was." Shale spoke up. She had been the only one not laughing, although she had been doing what passed as smiling for her.

                "That would be you." Solona said was a friendly slap on Shale's arm. "Loghain's man is going to assume you were just another golem, instead of the free will being you are." She explained.

                "It is dumb, but I have found most squishy things are." Shale summed up. Her comment had them all smirking and chuckling again.

                 "The guard assumed that since golems are outside of Loghain's ability to reproduce, or find within any decent about of time, that saying that was the only way inside that they might finally get the message and leave him alone." Elissa explained to Shale.

                "The surface squishy things are unable to reproduce a masterpiece such as I. Why am I not surprised?" Shale asked in her uniquely condescending tone.

                "It also was a convenient explanation on why we would allow us in, but not them." Solona added.

                "We should move on." Elissa told them.

                The group walked towards the doors leading for the city. They had barely entered the front entrance of the market when the captain of the guard walked over to them. They were directed to the local tavern Tapsters which would have rooms available for humans. They were also told the Deep Roads were closed as was the Assembly until the new King was crowned.

                Elissa lead the group to the Tavern and had gotten all three of the rooms fairly easily since travel was restricted for the time being. Each room only had one bed in each. While she as Solona could share along with the two dogs , the problem was the other four. Ideally Shale would room with Zevran and Wynne because she did not sleep and could watch him. That however left Alistair and Rory sharing what would be a small bed for two such large men. Looking at the smaller than average bed Elissa was at a loss of what to do. Wynne at least had not made a comment about the room arrangements, yet.

                Solona had chuckled. "I bet Rory and Alistair aren't going to fit on one bed."

                Elissa giggled. "Not without some serious cuddling."

                Both of them laughed. "I'll see if we can arrange for a few cots. I'm sure they must have something."

                It turned out they did have a few cots and so an extra one was set-up in both of the other rooms while Elissa and Solona were fine with their arrangement.

                "We should split up and take a walk around the Commons first, get a feel for the place." Elissa suggested.

                Solona nodded. "I'll go with Rory and Wynne."

                Zevran who had been quiet until now gave her a flirty smile. "My I accompany you my delightful goddess of magic?" He said with a purr in his voice. "I would like to perhaps show you the finer things the merchants might carry."

                Elissa smiled slyly. Since Solona had sicced Morrigan on Alistair she thought some payback was in order. "I think that is a great idea. Sole knows quite a bit about herbs, perhaps you can find a poison recipe she can use on her blades once she is proficient enough with them that is."

                Solona rolled her eyes. "Yes, by all means join us."

                "Does it wish for me to continue to follow the pointed -eared one and squish it if it gets too unruly?" Shale asked.

                Elissa smiled at Zevran's move to place himself on the other side of Solona away from Shale. "That will be quite alright. I was hoping to see if they have any of the augmentation crystals you wanted. This is likely the best place we will find any." The dogs sorted themselves out with Adele going to Solona's side and Flynn going to Elissa's.

                Shale stood a little taller. "Oh I hope so. I feel absolutely naked without some form of adornment."

                Elissa covered Alistair's mouth before he could say anything. "Don't." She warned him quietly. She knew him too well at this point. "Sole would have to repair your smashed foot if you say that." She smiled as she pulled back her gauntlet.

                "Wouldn't dream of saying something that would result our large, heavy friend taking insult from me." He said smoothly.

                The shopping trip turned out to be a very good idea. Solona had found another backpack and Zevran had made a few poison recommendations for Solona that she could easily reproduce both for him and herself. Elissa had managed to find some fire, ice and lightening augmentation crystals that made Shale very happy, as well as a nice ruby. With lyrium being so easy to get within the city, Elissa had bought a supply of lyrium dust that Solona could use to replace the potions she needed.

                They had also learned that the population was split on who to support, but it was more for the Prince than the old General. The rumors about the Prince setting-up and killing his brother and sister were considered points in his favor rather than against him. It proved he was cunning and ruthless. Alistair had made a comment about not understanding how anyone could do that to family. Elissa had told him she'd explain it later.

                They had all had dinner in the Tapsters main hall. Listening to the dwarves around them talking a few other things became clear. The Nobles were deadlocked. The main sticking point had been regarding an issue about the casteless. The more traditional and Warrior Caste were backing Harrowmont while the Smith and Merchant Clans were backing the Prince. It was rumored the Prince had a Casteless mistress who was influencing him.

                Elissa pulled Alistair, Rory and Solona aside upstairs into her room to discuss the situation.

                "I have my reasons for who I support, and why that I'll explain after if you want. But the three of you need to decide amongst yourselves as Grey Wardens who you support and why." Elissa told them as she sat between Alistair's legs and lend back against his chest to listen to their debate, and to help out if they had questions.

                Alistair looked disgruntled even before the debate began. "Grey Wardens don't get involved in politics." He reminded her.

                "It doesn't always work out that way." Rory told him. "Even if it's unofficial someone is going to ask us who we support, or like, or some other euphemism for 'who do we back'. It would be nice to have an answer that is a group decision before any of us gets backed into a corner."

                Solona thought hard, biting her lip before speaking up. "As much as I want to side with Harrowmont..." She looked disgruntled. "And I hate his name by the way..." She muttered. Every time someone said his name she felt a start at the Harrow part of his name. "I can't really see how cutting themselves off from the rest of the world is in the best interests of the Dwarven people, and it certainly wouldn't be in the Orders best interest with the Deep Roads being access here, or even Ferelden as a whole if they limit trade."

                Alistair shook his head. "But the alternative is someone who killed his brother and framed his sister!"

                "That's not a bad thing to Dwarves." Rory reminded him." The conversation they had overheard earlier that evening in the common room of the tavern had chilled even him. "They seemed pretty impressed that he'd done it and only rumors of a conspiracy are circulating.

                "That's not something we should be encouraging though, is it?" Alistair questioned.

                "Isn't it?" Solona asked with concern. "At any cost, remember? The Dwarves are at war with the Darkspawn all the time unless there is a Blight... Can we really blame them for needing ruthless people to rule over their kingdom?" Alistair was quiet for a moment while he thought about it.

                "I agree, but for a different reason." Rory agreed. "I slipped down into 'Dust Town' earlier, and it makes alienages look like the lap of luxury." He told them grimly. "The people down there are born into the poverty with no way of leaving it, except for crime or birthing a child with someone of higher rank. Bhelen at least wants to give them a way out, make them able to work and join the army. That's where his opposition is, the people who don't want to see that happen."

                "So the murderer wants to help his people?" Alistair said confused. "Why?"

                Solona smiled wistfully. "It’s simple, because he's in love with one of them. If he can make his people stronger, and free the casteless from their roles, then he can be happy too."

                "Isn't he happy now?" Alistair asked.

                "She's his mistress Alistair." Elissa said sadly in a near whisper. "If he truly loves her, he'd want her as his wife."

                "Oh, I never thought of that." He admitted bashfully. He should have realized that, but his knowledge of nobles was limited by those that visited Redcliffe when he was a child. A good number of them had been Orlisian and related to Isolde.

                "Harrowmont and his brother never would have allowed her to be more and even might have tried to kill her for having influence over him." Rory explained.

                Alistair shook his head. "Why would they do that?"

                "They're afraid of change, afraid of losing power." Elissa explained. "Nobles are only as powerful as their influence can take them. If they don't prove they have it every so often the amount of influence they wield is diminished."

                "Take Elissa and I," Rory began. "As the third in line for Highever's line, and me being a third son, she could have married me and no one in the nobility of Ferelden would have cared, except maybe my father's landholders. But as Queen, no matter who she marries everyone will care because it will impact their ability to have influence on the Crown."

                Alistair had stiffened at his explanation. "I know that much." He muttered, holding Elissa closer.

                "The same applies here." Elissa said quietly. "The Prince had to get rid of his brother because his brother would have killed her if Bhelen wasn't willing to let her go when ordered to." She looked up at him. "'The Game' is what Nobles call this petty one-upmanship. It's why both Maric and Cailan didn't acknowledge you." Alistair stiffened even more. "I don't know why Maric never said anything... but Cailan didn't know about you until six months after being crowned. He had no standing to pull you out of the Chantry without acknowledging you. And he couldn't do that with the way the Ferelden political scene was then. Cailan never really had the full support of his nobles. It was my father and Loghain's support that kept him as King." She explained.

                "I thought the point of being King meant you ruled the country." He said bitterly.

                Elissa closed her eyes tightly. Her temper wanted desperately to escape but she knew he deserved a better explanation then he'd been given. "If Cailan had acknowledged you, your life would have been much worse Alistair." She said sadly. "Royal Bastards are treated with even more contempt than most, and one in position to actually become King should something happen to Cailan, with your lack of training... Cailan would have been begging for a dagger in the back if he acknowledged you as his brother and heir."

                Alistair was holding her tightly. "I would never have...."

                "You, no," Rory cut in. "But the other nobles... Look at Loghain." He pointed out. "He helped murder everyone standing between him and the throne."

                "The nobles who think they could have controlled you wouldn't have asked you. They would have just done it and then tried to make you their puppet."

                Everyone sat quietly for a while. "If you both want to support this Bhelen, than I agree too and support you." Alistair said quietly not looking up from where he was hiding his face in Elissa's hair. Solona and Rory agreed.

                "Who did you support?" He asked in her ear.

                "Bhelen; he would be best for a Blighted Ferelden, and he is a direct heir. Not supporting him would undercut my own position at the Landsmeet." She said sadly. "I don't like it, but he does understand duty to his people. I just would have liked for him to find a better way of doing things, but this is Orzammar, not Ferelden." She admitted. With their decision made they all went their own rooms.

                It took another two days before they were able to meet with a representative from both camps. They both were very interested in talking to Elissa and establishing relationships with her-once they were crowned, but due to the political climate they wished to not be seen by strangers until they could prove loyal to one faction or the other. Elissa was more than a little infuriated by their attitude.

                Solona had basically set-up an office in the Shaperite with the scholars. Wynne was being pestered by a young dwarf Dagna about everything the girl could think of when it can to magic. And considering the speed her brain and mouth could move at Elissa was amazed the older woman was able to keep up.  Shale had taken to staying with Solona to protect her from anyone who would try to engage her, other than young Dagna.

                Rory had suggested they enter the Provings on their own merit to let Elissa blow off some steam before she showed the dwarves how deadly she could be with her blades in an explosive undiplomatic way. Wynne had joined Rory, Alistair and Elissa for the group combat, but Elissa took all the single combat bouts she could get. Her victories were lining up, and earning them quite the purse of winnings, both from the purses and the side bets Zevran and Rory was making. Zevran also had tagged along as Wynne's flirty shadow for most of the day, and watched their bouts when Wynne was in the ring.

                Zevran was very amusing to Elissa. His comments and flirting with Wynne had been so hilarious that she often was being pulled from her brooding with his comments. Even Alistair who was determined to hate him had chuckled at some of his antics, especially his comments about Wynne's amazing bosom, and how it was gravity deifying. She could tell he wasn't use to being so quiet with the others, but he must have sensed the tension between Wynne and Elissa and figured he could get away with his antics with her. His comments were over-the-top teasing, and surprisingly Wynne was giving it right back.

                Wynne was very different with Zevran. His teasing didn't fluster her at all in fact she seemed to get a kick out of it. Solona had told her about the teasing in the Circle begin a form of entertainment, so it was likely Wynne had more experience with the teasing than her grandmotherly persona indicated. Zevran seemed even more delighted and encouraged by her reactions to his bosom jests. Although when Elissa thought about it his comments had a hint of truth, Wynne's body and especially her breasts had held up to the ravages of time very well. She could only hope she aged half as well.

                After the last round in the ring as a group, the Provings Master had asked who they fought for. This was the moment that Elissa had been anticipating.  Despite being warned by Rory just a few days before Alistair was surprised they were put on the spot like this so publicly. Elissa had been ready. She knew both Bhelen and Harrowmont were looking for some type of public sediment of support before being willing to make an appointment with them.

                "I fight for myself, Elissa Cousland, heir to the throne of Ferelden." Elissa had said before motioning to Alistair. There was a small eruption of talking from the spectators. Obviously most hadn't known who Elissa Cousland was. Her status was of instant interest to the nobles in the crowd who hadn't known.

                "I am Alistair and I fight for the Grey Wardens." He said proudly. There was an even louder rumble of approval from the crowd. Grey Wardens were held in great respect within Orzammar because of their co-operation in fighting the darkspawn at any time.

                Rory stepped forward. "I also fight for the Grey Wardens. And the Ferelden Wardens stand with Prince Bhelen." He said with his head held up, staring down the Proving Master. Being human the pose held an air of arrogance since he was so much taller than the Provings Master and had to cast his eyes downward to look at him. The Hall exploded with both applause and angry yells.

                "We had best leave." Wynne suggested as the volume of the yelling and increased as the supporters of each faction turned on one another.

                "Yes." Elissa said with disgust before leading the group out of the arena, and into the Proving Outer Chamber. "Well... that should get us in to see the Prince now I should think." She blew out a deep breath.

                Zevran looked at Elissa and smirked slightly. "I have also made inroads towards the Prince's camp." He admitted.

                They all turned and closed ranks around him. "What did you do?" Elissa asked, irritation at his possible actions already rubbing against her raw nerves.

                "Nothing politically unwise I assure you my future Queen." He promised, raising his hands up to ward off her anger, although he was smiling. "I just delivered some promissory notes to two local family for the Prince. It was a task unbecoming someone as powerful as you." He said with a courtly bow.

                Elissa shook her head and chuckled. "Is that all you did?"

                Zevran started to give her a suggestive look, but rethought it when Rory cleared his throat. "One of the nobles is actually in the Deep Roads so I left the note with his daughter. She asked we retrieve him, but I made no promises."

                Elissa growled. "Too right, we are supposed to be Wardens, not messengers."

                "I did however get a permissive for entrance for the Deep Roads in case we need it for anything." He said handing the parchment over to her.

                "We might need that." She said thoughtfully. "Grey Warden recruits need to be blooded before the Joining."

                Zevran managed to not show how startled he was by the statement. "Anything you require, your Grace, I'll be happy to provide." His tone suggested so much more than his continued messenger services. Rory growled protectively as Alistair bristled and stepped between him and Elissa.

                "I suggest you return to your contact in the Diamond quarter then," Elissa replied as if he hadn't said anything to ruffle the feathers of the protective men, "I am sure after our display over the past two days someone will want to talk to us. And at this stage I really don't care who."  She did give Zevran a hard stare. "Under no circumstances are you to accept any 'side jobs'. Are we clear?" Her emphasis on side jobs portrayed her meaning not to agree to any assassinations.

                Zevran nodded and gave a tilt of his head. "On your orders, Commander." He said seriously. It was an interesting habit Zevran was beginning to form. When he was dead serious about something he called her Commander, as did the rest of the party. The rest of the time when he would talk to her, or tease the others, he would use anything else. It was comforting to have a something like this 'tell' regarding his intentions."

                Later that evening Zevran had told her that the Prince was interested in meeting, but he needed two more days to deal with a 'political issue' before they could meet. Elissa sighed but understood, the rumors of assassination attempts were circulating and it wouldn't be prudent to meet with strangers without taking the time to confirm identities. Still it was encouraging to see Zevran had returned with a tentative appointment time.

                "So what is this political issue?" Elissa asked him quietly. She wanted more information on the rumors he'd heard, his contact seemed better informed than listening in the tavern had provided her.

                "The local Carta is causing trouble and have an assassination attempt planned." He reported. "If they delay their plans then the appointment could be pushed back further."

                Elissa was displeased but not surprised by the news. "I really hope it gets dealt with before then. My patience is wearing thin." Zevran nodded and walked away. Had she paid more attention to the assassin than her drink and irritation she would have noticed the gleam of excitement in his eyes.

                He waited until most of the party had gone upstairs before he approached Solona who was engrossed in a book at the table and hadn't even noticed the rest had gone to bed. "I am to understand that you are the second on command of this little party, are you not my dearest Warden?"

                Solona looked up at the assassin with surprise. Shale as always was nearby, so Solona didn't feel threatened by how close the elf was to her. "Not officially, but I guess so... Why?"

                "It is a rather delicate situation." He purred softly. He took her hand lightly, his fingers almost caressing her palm.

                She pulled her hand away as a shiver of pleasure ran up her arm. "I'm listening."

                Zevran smiled widely. "Elissa can't be seen as doing favors for another, it would be beneath her station." He once more purred as he leaned forward towards her ear.

                Solona nodded and held her breath. He had breathed into her ear and once more made her shiver. As much as she disliked and distrusted the elf, he was very good at seduction.  "And that's important because...." She encouraged him to continue.

                "The Prince needs a certain Carta leadership taken care of before he can meet with us. It is unlikely they will be dealt with before your dear cousin loses her patience with the situation and deals with them herself." He whispered to her, breathing just enough to keep her trembling.

                Solona tried to control her breathing but it only ended up with her slightly panting. "So we should what? Take them down ourselves?"

                "And maybe without your other loud, Warden friends...yes? They don't seem the type to be discrete." He chuckled lightly.

                Solona turned her face to they were staring at one another. She hadn't realized he was so close, until her nose brushed his. "Like you are?" She asked breathlessly.

                He chuckled. "But of course, no one here is aware we are planning to kill all the Carta members currently in Orzammar. They think we are lovers, teasing one another." He placed his hand on the side of her face dragging them towards him. Solona without thinking let him lead her forward to kiss him.

                As their lips were about to meet Shale spoke. "Does it really think kissing that is a good idea?" Shale looked down at their surprised expressions. "It would regret such actions later would it not?"

                Solona jumped back as if burned. "Yes of course." She stammered, flushing completely red. "I'll arrange everything for tomorrow night." She said to Zevran without looking at him again.   
"Good night." She said quickly before almost running up the stairs to her room.

                "That was not very nice my rocky friend." Zevran said with a pout.

                "It was recently hurt. It does not need to be hurt again." Shale said with disinterest. She got up and followed Solona up the stairs.

                Zevran was left alone on the Tapsters main hall. "Does anyone wish to have a game of Wicked Grace?" He asked the room at large, within five minutes there were eight payers set-up for an all night game. Zevran smiled.  It would be a good night after all.

               

                The next day Solona seemed to be a little out-of-sorts. Alistair had been watching her all through breakfast and every time someone came down the stairs she would look up, blush and then look away with an almost relieved look on her face. He didn't know what to make of it.      

                "Are you going to the library again today?" He asked her as she watched Rory come down the stairs.

                Solona looked completely distracted and barely looked at him, "Yes..."

                "Did you know I got a dress so I can dance the Remigold for you like I promised?" He asked her.

                "Oh that's good." She said as she watched Elissa come down completely failing to respond to his remark.

                Alistair raised a brow at her. He looked around the group and realized the only one not down there now was Zevran, as he had just gone to bed as Alistair was coming down. Solona was still watching the stairs, meaning she was looking for the elf. He groaned and gave her arm a little shake to gain her attention. "Hey, Sole."

                She finally gave him most of her attention, but her eyes darted to the stairs. "Yeah."

                "Zevran's not coming down." He said with a scowl, leaning back and crossing his arms.

                His words finally got her complete attention. "What? Why not?"

                "He stayed up all night and just went to his own bed." Alistair said blandly.

                "Oh." She said in a soft voice. "That's actually really good." She sighed in relief.

                "Something I should know about... as your big brother?" He prodded her.

                Solona blushed slightly but shook her head. "It's nothing to worry about." She sighed. "I just did something stupid for a second last night and..." She looked at Alistair's expression as it darkened a little. "Nothing bad..." She promised him.

                Alistair sighed and sat forward. "I know how hard the next few months can be," Solona's eyes widened and she clamped her mouth shut as he continued, "It can get really intense. So don't be too hard on yourself if you do start to think, or do something that is out-of-character." He said flushing a little as he spoke.

                Solona bit her lip. "I thought I had another month before that kind of thing became a problem."

                Alistair sat back. "Well there is more going on than just _that_ part of it." He sat back. "The nightmares usually get worse in the Deep Roads, and then there is a sudden increase to your strength. It's almost like it's easier to wield a weapon."

                Solona nodded. "I noticed the nightmares were a little more... In focus..." She said uncertain how to describe the change. "For mages that usually means we are being manipulated by a demon or spirit, in this case I think it's proximity to the Archdemon." She told him.

                He nodded to her. "Yeah. That's what I think too." He looked a t little bashful as he continued. "I'm still changing too." He admitted softly. "I am now able to sense where any of the wardens are even if we are split up within Orzammar itself."

                Solona was surprised. "So when I'm in the Diamond district, you know that?"

                Alistair nodded while a little embarrassed and worried how she'd take the news, because of his background. "Yup, no phylactery required." He joked, Solona chuckled and hit him in the arm. "Of course I don't know it's you personally. Just a warden." He assured her, not wanting her to think he was watching her like a Templar would.

                "Do wardens feel different than Darkspawn?" She asked, her curiosity suddenly peaked.

                Alistair thought on that. "Mostly... It's a very subtle difference." He finally said. "More the feeling is... less intense with us. If the warden was older, like Duncan, it's not so different that I'd be able to tell for certain at a distance."

                She nodded. "Ok... That's actually really interesting to know.  Thank you." She told him with a small smile, her thoughts thinking about everything she was learning.  Perhaps it would be a good idea to make a diary of her own to confirm the differences between Rava's experiences and those of Blight Wardens.

                "Hey that's what big brothers are for, or at least that's what I've been told." He chuckled sadly trying not to think about the last time he saw Cailan's body.

                She put her hand on his shoulder and put her head down as she laughed. "You are a very good big brother Ally." She kissed him on the cheek. "And thank you for not asking."

                He gave her a worried look. "Should I have asked?"

                She shook her head. "Nothing happened." He looked relieved. "And as a brother you wouldn't have wanted to know if it had." She chuckled. Alistair stuck out his tongue at her, but tucked back into his breakfast.

                She thought back on Zevran's suggestion that the others not be involved and disagreed. Alistair couldn't be there since someone had to stay with Elissa, but Rory would be a good choice to come along. She also wanted the rest of them there for back-up. With Sten, Leliana and Morrigan gone, their strength was reduced, and without Elissa or Alistair that strength was reduced further. She'd feel better if Rory were there.

                "I do need you to do something for me tonight." She said with a wicked grin.

                Alistair moved his upper body away from her and answered her with a very wary look. "Yes?"

                "Can you keep Elissa busy tonight, without drawing attention to the fact that the rest of us will be out tonight?" She asked him.

                Alistair blinked in confusion. "I am pretty sure I can. Why?"

                Solona shrugged. "I have something I need help doing and I don't want Elissa to know about it, so I can't tell you either."

                "This a thing we aren't suppose to being doing?" He asked, his eyes narrowed with suspicion.

                Solona chuckled. "I can't tell you that! If I say yes, then you know something, and if I say no, you still know too much."

                "And you need Zevran but not me?" He asked looking slightly jealous.

                She looked at him. "You'd rather he kept Elissa occupied?" She chuckled at the sour face he made.

                Alistair quickly shook his head. "No! Of course not."

                "Then don't ask any more questions." She sat back smugly as he tried several times to say something but finally he gave up. "I will answer everything when we get back, ok?" She promised him.

                He shook his head, but didn't refute her anymore. "I don't like it... but I trust you, and I will keep a sense on you." He said referring to his new ability.

                "I wouldn't expect otherwise." She chuckled as she patted his hand.

 

                Alistair had been a little nervous when he walked up to Elissa that afternoon to ask her to go on a date with him. Until now there hadn't been any way they could go on one before due to a lack of any type of entertainment or dining opportunities in the middle of the wilderness.

                He'd asked around and found out there was a place in the diamond district that did fine dining, and they were thrilled with the prospect of serving a warden and the future queen of Ferelden. He'd asked Solona and Wynne to see if they could find her a dress. There was also a evening Proving that night, although he wasn't sure he wanted to do that. He'd rather have an evening of talking over a good meal alone with her. In a way he was happy they had time alone.

                He'd found a good shirt to wear with some new leather pants that he could wear under his armor later. They were a little tight for regular use, but it was the only thing they had in his size. He was blushing when Elissa had made him turn slowly when he came to her room to pick her up. When she walked up and kissed his deep and hard he'd rethought going out for a moment. Elissa had insisted he wear his cloak to cover his behind because the pants did indecent things to his anatomy.

                Dinner had been wonderful. They'd been ushered to a walled off darkened section of the dining room with candles making their dinner very romantic. Their conversation centered around getting to know each other better. They'd talked a little about the future. They had been there slowly enjoying the several courses and sample sized glasses of suggested wines and ales with each dish for several hours. The dinner had been designed to take a great deal of time with small portions every half hour.

                "I know this seems fast, but I have really never felt so... " Alistair searched for the right word. "I really don't know how to describe this feeling." He admitted after giving up after a moment of thought. "I just know that I've never had it before and I never want it to end."

                Elissa blushed and reached out her hand to place it over his. "I know what you mean. I have so many bad things trying to crowd my mind all the time, but when I think of you, and the things you say I can feel some of that hurt, anger and frustration just disappear." She admitted softly.

                Alistair just stared into her eyes, the candle light was making them seem mysterious and alluring. Her hair was a deep dark red in the candlelight. The light from the candle made the golden flecks in her eyes gleam like gems.

                 "Maker's Breath, but you are beautiful." His voice a breathless husky whisper of awe. Elissa looked down and blushed softly. The flickering of the candles making the shadows play across her face. "I must be the luckiest man alive." He said as he brought his hand to the side of her face, in part so he could touch her, but more because he needed to know she was real in that moment, and not some Fade dream.

                "Or I'm the luckiest woman." She shyly replied, placing her hand over his and leaning into his touch.

                "I'm so glad we did this." He said, caressing her other hand on the table as he slowly pulled his hand back from her face, but letting his fingertips caress her cheek as he pulled them away slowly.

                She giggled softly. "I'm surprised the others haven't interrupted us by now." Alistair looked guilty and she noticed right away. "Why do I get the feeling you know why?" She teased him.

                "I don't!" He defended himself quickly. "I really don't!" He said as she gave him the look he found hard to resist confessing everything to her.

                She raised her brow and shook her head. "So they didn't tell you." She chuckled.

                He looked down bashfully. "Sole said it was for the best, and I decided to do this so you wouldn't worry about them." He looked hopefully at her. "Besides I really wanted to spend a night together getting to know you better, just like this."

                She smiled lovingly at him. "This really is perfect Alistair, thank you." He felt his heart swell with warmth and happiness.

 

                Elissa was waiting in her room with her arms crossed as Solona dragged herself into the room at sometime just before what would be dawn on the surface. She was soaked and had bits of grime and gore still on her.

                After killing the majority of the Carta and their leader Jarvia along with her minions, the party had washed as much of the blood off themselves as they could so they wouldn't be noticed on the walk to Tapsters, hence the soaked hair and armor. Coming up out through Dagna's family smith shop had been a surprise, but a good one since they'd only had to go such a short ways to get to the inn.

                Solona sighed as she dumped her backpack as well as Elissa's on the floor. "Before you start. It was my decision to exclude you from the mission." She slumped down on the floor and began to pulled her gauntlets and boots off, rather than risk getting the bed wet.

                "And I suppose it was your decision to do whatever you did on your own as well." She snorted, not believing it for a moment.

                Solona stared her down, "Actually it was." She said proudly.

                Elissa didn't know if she should hit her or congratulate her. "Well..." She bit her lip with confusion

                "Well what?" Solona asked, she was too tired to think clearly at that moment, and all she wanted was to get her armor off and get to sleep. She began to pull at the straps holding her breastplate on. She'd used almost all her mana and it was going on twenty-four hours since she'd had any sleep.

                "Oh Maker's Breath!" Elissa exclaimed with frustration and she pushed Solona's hands out of the way and began unbuckling her armor for her. "What were you doing that required you to leave Alistair and me behind?"

                Solona groaned in relief as the armor come off. "Maker! I have no idea how Templars can stand to wear this stuff all the time." She moaned. Even with the plate mail being made a feather-light fade metal, it was still more armor than Solona had ever even imagined wearing. Even after a couple of weeks it was still taking her time to get used to the extra weight and how it moved.

                "Sole! I swear I will hit you if you don't tell me soon." Elissa growled as she pulled hard at the straps holding her greaves on.

                Solona sighed as she began to fully strip down. "We did something that you can't be tied to."

                "And that was?" Elissa pressed.

                Sole looked at her crossly. "Do you really think I should tell you?'

                "Please tell me Zevran didn't talk you into anything." Elissa pleaded.

                Solona looked away. "He might have had a point and I decided to go and do something about it."

                Elissa's jaw dropped in shock. "He talked you into assassinating someone?"

                Solona scoffed. "I wouldn't ever assassinate anybody." Elissa began to take a deep breath in relief. "We took out the Carta that was threatening the people of Dust Town and trying to kill the Prince." Solona said as finished laying her wet under clothes out in front of the fire Elissa had thoughtfully kept going.

                Elissa stared at her in complete disbelief. "You did what?" She nearly yelled, catching herself just in time and managing to keep her voice at a reasonable decibel.

                "Jarvia's Carta is dead, or at least everyone in their base is dead." Solona sighed in relief as she finally climbed into bed naked, too tired to even get into a shift to sleep in.

                Elissa began to hyperventilate. "Rory and everyone who went with you..."

                Solona yawned. "All fine." She mumbled as she waved Elissa away. "Used too much mana, going to sleep now." She groaned and slipped into sleep almost immediately.

                Elissa stared at her cousin, who only a month ago had never killed anybody before. Now she didn't even bat an eye at killing possibly a hundred people in a single night. Elissa was both proud of her for making a hard choice and following it through, willing to take on the consequences, and wanting to strangle her for taking such risks without evaluating it with herself first.

                She walked out of the room as calmly as she could before she pushed open Rory and Alistair's door which wasn't locked, without knocking. Rory was waiting for her in front of his fireplace. He'd laid his clothes out too, but he'd taken the time to dress in dry clothes knowing she was going to come stalking over. Alistair looked to be asleep.

                Elissa sat in front of the fireplace on the floor facing him. "What happened?" She said as calmly as she could.

                "Zevran knew the location and way into the Carta base." Rory explained. "Solona said that we needed to end the deadlock so we could get in the see the Prince which wasn't going to happen until they were dealt with."

                Elissa groaned, knowing that Solona had been right, but not liking how far they were being drawn into the political game. "I know, but why not me and Alistair?"

                Rory smiled. "A Queen and her Consort does not play messenger or take out a Carta. They send their most trusted and discrete troops. And In this case Solona wanted you to have plausible deniability." He smirked. "Although I think Zevran instigated the whole thing. He knew something we don't. Likely that the Prince wouldn't met with us without another action to prove ourselves to be in his corner so to speak."

                Elissa snorted knowing that was likely true. For someone who had only been there a few days Zevran was already more integrated into the underground network than anyone else was. "No one is going to believe I didn't know about this."

                Rory chuckled. "No, but they are going to wonder just how good your political face is since you couldn't have given anything away tonight either."

                Elissa blushed, it had been late when she realized that Alistair and she had not been interrupted once during their 'date'. "Did she do well?" She asked quietly.

                Rory chuckled and gave her a positive response. "She did very well... She lead but let me arrange the fight tactics. She used everyone's abilities the way a leader should. You'd have been proud."

                Elissa looked to Alistair. "You or Alistair should be the first to get the Warden-Commander position..." She told him quietly.

                "No." Rory said sternly. "Alistair does not want it, especially since it will mean he'd hardly ever see you if he does take it." He said meaningfully. "He'll still do his duty, you know that, but he'll never want command as long as someone he trusts can do the job instead. I don't know if that will ever change, but right now that's the way it is."

                Elissa looked away. "I've been thinking about what Wynne said, about being selfish and duty."

                Rory sighed and shook his head with annoyance. "You were right 'Lissa when you defended yourself against her accusations." He said lifting her face with his fingers. "You have more than your fair share of burdens. You need someone you can rely on to be there to help you. Alistair is that person." He nudged her chin to make her smile if only for a small moment.

                "But he has his own calling." She said sadly.

                Rory pulled her into his lap and breathed into her hair rubbing her back like he had when they were younger. When she had first began to have responsibilities that had her ordering the men around she had often come to him afterwards to ask if as a knight he would resent whatever order she'd given that day, seeing as the orders came from 'snot nosed child playing soldier'. He'd needed to assure her several times just like this.

                "His duty can be carried out in Denerim for the most part once the Blight is over. He, Solona and I  will have to rebuild our Order." He reminded her. "Half of that battle will be with the Nobles. The Grey Wardens had a base in Denerim and one in Soldier's Peak at one time. We'll just do the same once more. That way the secrets the Wardens need to keep can be kept at Soldier's Peak, and the political wrangling can be done in Denerim." He said laying out a simple plan. "You'll be able to help him with that, and so will I, at least at first."

                She sighed and she hugged him tightly. "Thank you, I needed to hear that."

                Rory nodded against her head. "I know. Sometimes I think your family does itself a disservice making you think duty is the most important thing." Normally Elissa would protest such a comment but she was too tired, and a tiny part of her agreed, without someone to share her life with her duty would be empty. Rory smiled as she gave him a half-hearted squeeze in retaliation instead. "Just because you both have duties doesn't mean you can't find ways to make them work together."

                "You don't want command?" She asked him. She needed him to tell her he didn't want it.

                Rory shook his head. "Solona has a destiny and as a mage she'll need all the political protection she can get as she fulfills it."

                "She'll have me and the Order." Elissa said fiercely. "So do you want command or not?"

                Rory chuckled. "Down Pup!" She burrowed her face into his shoulder a little deeper to hide her tears. He still felt them as they slipped through his shirt. "She'll also have the rest of us as well, but the title of Warden-Commander is one the Chantry can't ignore... And no, I don't want it."

                She relaxed as he said that. "So it's ok that I'm thinking of pushing her to accept it?" She asked, still hesitant to make the choice alone, she wasn't really a Warden so it felt wrong for her to be making the decision without their approval.

                "If you don't... I will." Alistair said from his bed. His voice raspy from sleep, but neither was sure when he'd woken up.

                They both looked up and over to Alistair, he was sitting up watching the two on the floor, his expression was soft and he gave Elissa a shy-looking smirk that only Alistair could pull off. Elissa smiled at him and he moved to join them on the floor. Elissa moved from Rory's lap to Alistair's.

                "That's settled then." Rory said with a yawn. "Can I go to bed now? It's been a really long night, even with Shale taking the lion's share of the damage."

                Elissa sniffled back the last of her tears and laughed. "Yes, sorry to keep you from your beauty sleep... You need it."

                Rory got up and groaned as he stretched his back. "Not that I mind when you need it, but you are getting too heavy to be in my lap, Pup." He said in retaliation for her snarkiness.

                Alistair chuckled. "She's not too heavy for mine." He said with a quick kiss to her cheek.

                Elissa sighed and settled into his lap with her head tucked on his shoulder. "I'm glad you think so, because I'm too tired to go back to bed on my own."

                Alistair stood and readjusted her in his arms, smiling down at her. "Then I shall carry you back." She snuggled into his shoulder and let him do just that.

**Chapter Break**

Late Morning

                A messenger had been by to confirm the Prince's appointment for later that day. It seemed the threat to the Prince's life had been dealt with, and he was looking forward to an audience with the "Future Queen of Ferelden and her Grey Warden supporters".

                Elissa had gathered everyone and together they marched through the Commons and into the Diamond District. They could hear the Heralds for Lord Harrowmont in the distance loudly proclaiming that outsiders had no business interfering in the election of a new king. Elissa made a point of not even looking in his direction. Nobles and servants alike stopped to watch the group as they walked by and entered the Palace. Zevran took Elissa's hand and lead her over to a Dwarf who was waiting by the doors leading to the Throne Room of the Palace.

                "Ser Gavorn, may I introduce you to the Future Queen of Ferelden, Teyrnessa Elissa Cousland." The dwarf bowed over her hand in a courtly manner, His forehead not quite touching her gauntlet. "Your Grace, the Second -in-command to the Prince's household, Ser Vartag Gavorn."

                The Dwarf nodded politely, and Elissa returned the gesture. "Pleasure to meet you Serah." Elissa said politely.

                "And you as well, your Grace. "He said with a stern face. His tone completely neutral. Elissa introduced him to the rest of the party, and once introductions were concluded he lead them into the Throne Chamber. To either side of the throne were long tables with bench seating on the far side of the tables. The Table on the right held four chairs on the inner side of the table where Bhelen had setup his documents on the table like a desk.

                He rose to met the Party, and Elissa in particular. "It's good to finally meet you, Your Grace."

                "And you, Your Majesty." She said with her best courtly manners.

                He smiled. "I hope you don't mind if we skip pleasantries." He said after being introduced to the rest of the group.

                "Not at all." Elissa said pleasantly as she sat on the bench opposite to where Bhelen had obviously setup his own chair. The others, except Shale all sat down with her. Shale choose to stand behind Solona on Elissa's right.

                Bhelen had raised a brow when Elissa had introduced the Wardens. She had not included ranks, so he had been unsure who was the ranking Warden. With the three not in ranked armor it had been impossible to tell, but now with Elissa and Solona sitting together and the other two Wardens sitting beside her rank was established. On her other side the elf and then the mage sat calmly and awaited the conversation more patiently than the Wardens.

                "I won't waste your time, Your Grace." He said solemnly. " I am a man of my word. But with the Assembly deadlocked, I cannot at this time be assured I'll be leading the Dwarven People, so I cannot lend any aid to the Wardens, even during the Blight as of yet. As much as I would like to be able to make promises to our allies, I cannot, but I am sure you understand my predicament." His tone suggested nothing about his true feelings on the matter. He really was concerned about the possibility of the Blight being too much for the surface population to contain.

                Elissa smiled widely. "Good." Bhelen's advisors who were seated in the seats with him seemed to relax at her statement.

                Bhelen laughed, in part from surprise and part in relief. The future queen of Ferelden was a pragmatic leader, she prefer he lay his cards on the table and deal with facts, something that was refreshing for the Prince. "That was not what I was expecting of the group who killed the Carta just to make sure this meeting took place."

                Elissa managed to looked completely surprised before she schooled her features. The looks the other gave each other however told Bhelen quite a bit. One the Wardens had defiantly been involved, as had the mage. The elf and the Queen-to-be either didn't know or had been schooled very well in how to play the Game.

                "What is it you wished to speak to me about?" He asked bluntly. Like Elissa he preferred when he was talking to nobles who knew the Game but still put it on the back burner during a crisis, which the surface was currently experiencing.

                Elissa launched right into her concerns. "There are many things to discuss over the next few visits but first how can we help you end the stalemate?" She indicated the group with her hands. "We are all stuck here until we can petition the Assembly to be presented with the Grey Warden Treaty of Support."

                Bhelen sat back and rubbed his breaded chin. "I take it this 'King Loghain' I've heard about is an usurper?"

                The group as a whole might have been deferring to Elissa but the blonde warrior Alistair seemed to be angered even by mention of the man. The others all showed signs of discomfort as well. The ranking Warden grabbed his hand and he had turned to her, calming down.

                "You would be correct." She said slowly. "Until the Landsmeet where I can present myself and my documents he is at best Regent for Cailan's widow, his daughter Dowager Queen Anora." She was careful not to call him a traitor, because technically _if_ he was not aware Elissa lived, what he was doing was considered lawful, during a crisis, but that was an unlikely _if_.

                Bhelen nodded. "Will the Landsmeet accept those documents as authentic?"

                Elissa sat back and began counting out her points on her fingers. "Even if they don't I have many reasons on my side for my claim. There is both a Line-of-Decent claim that can defer to me as well as the Landsmeet's own proclamation of heir-to-the-throne to my father, as well as the Letter of Succession." She smirked. "Every way possible it has been determined that if I walk into that Chamber alive I will be Queen, unless Loghain has managed to kill half the Landsmeet nobles."

                Bhelen laughed bitterly. "And that's the rub isn't it. 'walking in alive'."

                Elissa returned his laugh with one of her own. "Indeed."

                "So we are both stuck in the Void, while others try to improve their lot with our deaths." He said lifting his goblet in a mocking toast to their enemies and their stupidity. "As to your question it would be easy if we had a Paragon, but the only living one went into the Deep Roads with her whole House nearly two years ago."

                Elissa raised a brow. "You can't honestly be suggesting I go into the Deep Roads and see about finding this Paragon of yours."

                Bhelen shook his head. "No, of course not , Your Grace,  but your Wardens could." He said looking towards the group. "It could be mutually beneficial." He suggested carefully. 

                Elissa was not pleased but she was willing to hear him out. Solona looked questioningly at her and Elissa squeezed her hand under  the table to reassure her. "And why would it be to our benefit to go into the Deep Roads after your missing Paragon?"

                "We have been cut-off from the Legion of the Dead for several weeks now." Bhelen explained. "The Legion is our answer to the Grey Wardens without the being able to kill Archdemons bit."

                Alistair jumped in and leaned forward over the table. "How long have they been out of contact?"

                " About three week now," He said checking with one of his advisors who nodded his agreement. "They had been tracking the Horde and last we heard they all were heading in two directions, One towards the Kocari Wilds and the rest towards the Deep Trenches under the Hunterhorn Mountains."

                Elissa blinked several times as she reviewed her geography in her mind. Those landmarks were not in Ferelden."That's in the Anderfels!" She finally gasped. "That would take months just to get there! And there is no way we could get them out of the country without Loghain's forces finding them!"

                "The Deep Roads are much faster than travelling above ground, Your Grace." Gavorn said. "Especially now as the Deep Roads are emptier than normal."

                "Empty?" Alistair gasped. "But only four months ago they were crawling with Darkspawn everywhere we turned."

                Bhelen nodded. "That's because the first part of the Horde was still moving south. All the activity stopped around the same time that Ostagar fell."

                Elissa looked at Rory who nodded grimly. "We'll need that intelligence from the Legion, Pup." He said quietly. "They might have news on the Archdemon too."

                She turned back resigned. "Ok. We'll go."

                Solona, Alistair and Rory all yelled "NO!" simultaneously.

                Elissa began to argue when Zevran placed a hand on her elbow. "Perhaps it would be best if you and his Highness were to make plans for when the Wardens return, and he is made King, my queen."

                Elissa turned her wrathful gaze towards the assassin. "I need to be fighting with them."

                "No, you don't." Solona said stubbornly, lifting her chin. "We are immune to the taint, you are not."

                "I can fight them as I have before." she argued.

                "You have been lucky to this point but we are talking months in the Deep Roads, not an occasional raid. Shale is also immune so she shall also accompany us." Solona said glaring at Elissa. daring her to contradict her.

                "She's right." Alistair said softly, his sad look pulled on Elissa's heartstrings. "Without you as queen; Ferelden will fall to the Horde and Loghain. If you become infected you'd have to become a blooded Warden." Elissa's face fell and her agony at having to send them without her washed through her leaving her cold and feeling helpless.

                "I will go with them." Wynne said softly, seeing Elissa's reaction and understanding more now about the woman in front of her then before now understood that Alistair's words had ensured she would be staying behind. It was also obvious Alistair had not intended to be anything but persuasive and not manipulative. It was obvious the feelings between the two were genuine and she now regretted trying to stop them from being together. "If I become tainted we can always induct me without repercussions." she said with a heavy heart. "Two powerful healers should help to keep them safe." She added.

                Elissa turned to Wynne unsure what to say. the woman knew what a risk she was taking but going down there for so long. "I... Thank you." She said, holding her hand tightly. "Please, help keep them safe." Wynne was moved by Elissa's compassion and dedication to Ferelden, and the people she loved.

                "Zevran will stay here with you." Solona said carefully. She turned to the elf. "Your job is to protect her. If she is safe when we return we will induct you into our ranks." She promised.

                "I will not fail you Warden." He responded bowing to her with his arms crossed.

                Rory snorted and winked at Alistair. "Just call her Commander from now on. We plan to don't we Alistair?"

                Solona spun and stared at Rory. "What?"

                "If the shoe fits Darling." He smirked. "Like it or not you are Warden-Commander now."

                "We voted last night." Alistair chimed in with a huge grin on his face. "Two to one, we win."

                Solona shook her head. "We'll discuss this later." She growled.

                "Yes Commander." Both of them said together with a chuckle. Solona began pleading to the Maker  'why me?'  She took a deep breath before turning back to the serious discussion. "If we do this, we'll need a day or so to prepare for that long a hike."

                "If I might make one suggestion?" Bhelen asked. He and his commanders had been sitting back amused as the humans had bickered. He had been hard pressed not to laugh out loud at their antics several times. He wished his own troops were as amusing.

                Elissa turned to him. "Please."

                He smiled at her. "I will provide the latest maps for the Deep Roads we have, but you'll need a Dwarf with you to help navigate the Roads." He looked resigned as she looked at Solona. "There is unfortunately only one Dwarf I know might know the route Paragon Branka took." He sighed with annoyance. "However he is a disgrace and I feel bad about sending you to him."

                "If we can get an idea of where she is headed that will eliminate most of the side tunnels." Rory said formally. "And likely weeks if not months off time looking for her. Time we might not have."

                Bhelen nodded. "Branka's husband Oghren. The man is a drunk since even before she left Orzammar, and abandoned him. Surprisingly, he is a superior warrior, when not passed out." He grumbled. "Even more unfortunate is his inability to curb his tongue in the presence of ladies."

                "But the damn blighter can still kill more Darkspawn drunk than most of the army can sober... Sober he's even better and can watch his manners, occasionally." Gavorn muttered loudly. He too seemed disgusted with these facts.

                Elissa was just glad they'd have another weapon to help fight the Darkspawn. Solona seemed to be happy with this arrangement too. Rory was more skeptical as was Alistair. From the continued tales and descriptions Bhelen and his advisors gave this Oghren was quite the character and as rude and crude as they come. Some of the stories were hard to believe and if it wasn't for the fact that the advisors were trying to not be complimentary Elissa would have thought they were embellished heavily. If half of what they said was right. Oghren was going to be her favorite Dwarf ever, because he was going to make sure Alistair, Rory, and Solona got back alive, along with the others.

                Bhelen also offered Elissa a place to stay within the Palace herself while they were away. Zevran had been offered a room as well, nearby to Elissa. She had graciously accepted for them both.

                It took two days to gather what they would need. Each of them now had a magical backpack and Solona and Rory both had magical money pouches. Tents would be a waste of time and space in the packs, but warm cloaks and bedrolls were added, and more dried nug and other long term food stuffs than any Dwarven expedition carried was loaded into the packs. Potions and injury kits were added, hunting gear was removed; almost everything in the Deep Roads had some sort of taint in its blood. With both mages able to produce ice, fresh water wasn't going to be an issue.

                Alistair was concerned about leaving Elissa behind with just Zevran as a bodyguard, but her staying in the Palace was helping calm him somewhat. Also knowing Elissa was as dangerous as any warrior he'd ever known had also made him feel better. There was one more thing he wanted to do for her. It had taken some time but he decided to teach her how to use templar abilities. He'd pulled her aside and showed her the first steps, the concentration exercises and the ability to feel the Fade. With both mages away she would have to practice feeling the Fade through lyrium infused runes.  By the time he returned Elissa should be ready to try cleansing an area of magic, if she practiced for a while every day. He'd also agreed to show Rory the ability while they were in the Deep Roads.

                Solona had made contact with the drunken dwarf Oghren. He'd told her the first stop of Branka's quest for the Anvil of the Void had been Caridin's Cross. Caridin had been the Paragon who had created the Anvil in ancient times and she had begun her search there. At one time it had been possible to get there directly to the Anvil Thaig by way of the crossroads. Now they would need to head through several abandoned Thaigs to get to where the Legion and the believed to be location of the Anvil and this Paragon Branka was suppose to be.

                Elissa pulled Alistair upstairs to her room. Once inside he'd pulled her to him to kiss her. She backed up so she could lock the door while not stopping their kiss. Alistair pressed her against the door as their kiss deepen a little more.

                Alistair finally broke away and placed his forehead to hers, trying to catch his breath. "Maker, I don't want to leave you tomorrow." He looked deeply into her eyes, his misery at leaving her shadowing his normal bright eyes.

                Elissa gave him a brave but sad smile. "I know." She ran her hands over his shoulders and arms, trying to memorize the way he felt under her fingers.

                He ran his hand over her cheek. "I've never felt like this before." He whispered.

                Elissa's breath caught. "Nor I."

                He searched her eyes. "This is real, isn't it?"

                "Yes." She said smiling slowly. "I love you Alistair."

                He froze for half a moment before he began to gulp at air with his eyes closed tightly. Elissa began to worry about his reaction and began to pull away. He suddenly pulled her back and began to kiss her deeper  making her body arch into him. Her blood pounded in her veins, singing with pleasure. It was a more urgent and needy kiss than earlier. Elissa gave back everything, she pulled him closer and held on to his shoulder and the back of his neck. She could feel the wood of the door on her back through her light shirt as he lifted her up off her feet. She felt a wet tear slide along her cheek. She pulled back as far as she could to look at him.

                "Alistair?" She whispered as she brushed her thumbs across his cheeks, wiping tears from his face.

                "I can't remember the last time anyone has ever..." He looked away with a shuddering breath. She could feel the emotion roiling inside him, the conflicting waves of grief and lust, as his leg slipped between her thighs, helping to hold her in place.

                Elissa's heart broke for him. "I do Alistair." She told him turning his face back to look into her eyes. "I love you."

                "I love you too." He stared deeply into her eyes. "Maker! I didn't think it was possible to feel this way." His breathing erratic as he tried to calm himself.

                Elissa suddenly felt euphoric. "I know." Her smile shone in her eyes. Hearing him say I love you had her feeling like her whole body was going to burst with joy. Little zings of sensation rushed from her chest to her fingers, toes even her loins which were presses enticingly against his thigh.

                "I love you." He suddenly laughed and pulled her away from the door to swing her around, twirling in the center of the room. "I have been wanting to say that for a while now." He admitted, happily, finally putting her down on her feet.

                 Elissa couldn't help but giggle at how blissful he was, and because for the first time since Highever she was truly and completely happy for the moment, even as dizzy as he'd made her from spinning, she was happy. She placed her hands on either side of his face. "I will always love you Alistair Therein."

                "And I will always love you Elissa Cousland." He vowed cheerfully. 

                She blushed and looked down uncertainly. "Even with what that will mean for you?"

                Alistair looked a little confused and then embarrassed. "You are the one who could do better than me Elissa." He said stepping back. "I know you said you didn't care about all that when Wynne..."

                Elissa placed her finger on his lips, quieting him. "I meant it." She promised him, staring into his eyes she could see how vulnerable he was to being rejected. "I will not let anyone push you aside! Only one person can take you away from me, and that is you." She vowed with a shaky voice. "Only you."

                "Me? Why would I leave you?" He breathlessly asked her.

                She gazed at him imploring him to understand. "I do love you, this has never been a political ploy. You have been too important to me right from the start."

                Alistair looked confused."Why would you say that?" He took a step away so her hands fell from his face to her sides. He placed his hands over hers, letting her take them. She didn't answer so he lead her over the bed to sit down on the side and turned so he was facing her.

                Elissa gave him a smile but it was a little sad. "People are going to say a lot of things about us. You have to know what you are in for." She said sadly. "loving me will come at a high price Alistair, especially for you."

                Alistair suddenly understood what she meant. "This is because I'm a bastard." He sighed and refused to look at her.

                "A royal bastard at that." She said quietly, stroking his hands with hers. They were so rough with calluses from working daily with his sword and shield. "They are going to say I am... with you because of who your father was."

                Alistair smiled at her bashfully. "I'm not sure but I think I should be insulted by that Royal Bastard title." He was desperate to defect the conversation, he wanted to felt that blissful happiness they had shared again.

                Elissa thought for a second about what she said before she snorted. "I didn't mean it like that."

                Alistair chuckled. "I might need to use that some day." He cleared his throat dramatically. "That's Royal Bastard to you Serah." He said as snotty and sarcastic as ever.

                Elissa giggled. "Don't you dare. I happen to like sweet Alistair very much." She said, bringing her hand to his cheek and holding it there. She loved the way his jaw felt under her fingers, rough and strong.

                "So it's sexy Alistair that you are in love with, good to know." He returned with a smirk. Elissa burst out laughing, he gave her a playful hurt look before it morphed into a mischievous look. Before she  could think of escaping he pulled her into his lap and began to tickle her. She shrieked with laughter. "Come on love say it.... say you love sexy Alistair."

                She started to twist away from him so he flipped her over laying her on the bed under him while he kept tickling her. "Stop Ali..." She laughed. "Please... please..."

                "Say it Elissa..." He laughed as he pinned her hands that had been questing to find his own ticklish spots above her head with one hand. "Say you love sexy Alistair."

                "I love sexy Alistair." She said breathlessly. He stopped tickling her and smiled down at her, brushing the loose hair from her braid away from her face. He golden eyes with their intense green rims fascinated him. He'd never seen the like before.

                "And I love you." He began to kiss her neck, dragging his eyes from her face reluctantly. "And nothing will make me want to leave you." He kissed up towards her ear, moving her auburn hair to the side. "No rumor." He kissed down her pulse points on her neck, making her shiver with desire. "No antics of the court." He kissed her collarbone. "No duty will ever make me stop loving you." He lifted his head to look at her. "Nothing." He promised her.

                Elissa could barely breath. "Alistair..." Her hand lifted to run through his hair. "Please, stay with me tonight." Her chest began to heave with nerves and desire as she awaited his answer.

                A light blush covered his cheeks. "Are you sure? I'd hate to leave you tomorrow..."

                "Yes." She breathed, lust pouring through her like fire spreading and licking at her limbs. "I want this... you."

                Alistair nodded before he began to kiss her once more reaching for the ties on her shirt, gentle and slow. He wanted to make this first time last for as long as possible.

                An hour later when Solona headed to bed she could hear moaning behind the locked door to her room. She sighed and backed away from the door and walked over to Rory's room and knocked. He answered with a smirk. "Is there something I can help you with Commander?"

                Solona pushed on his bare chest and walked past him. "I'm taking Alistair's bed since he's in mine."

                Rory paused for a moment before chuckling. "I don't know if I should say ewww about Elissa, or say good for him."

                Solona laughed. "I'd suggest good for him from the sounds I heard."

                Rory's face scrunched up in disgust. "Oh ewwwww."  He said as the imagine of Alistair and Elissa popped in his head.

                Solona laughed as she turned her back to undress. He watched for a moment as she took her shirt off over her head before he turned away and got into his own bed. He couldn't help but think about what the rest of her looked like naked now that he'd seen her back. He also couldn't help but wonder why she had what looked like a single whip lash mark along the spine of her back.

 

Early Morning by the Deep Roads entrance

                It had been a very bitter sweet morning for Elissa. Waking in Alistair's arms was literally a dream come true. Luckily he'd been exhausted enough after their evening he'd slept without nightmares. He'd fought waking up for several minutes before he'd finally opened his eyes and smiled in blissful happiness. At least until he had to get up and begin getting ready to go into the Deep Roads.

                Saying goodbye and watching them walk away had been extremely difficult, but something she knew they had to do. She had complete faith they would return. They had a very good chance at success thanks to; Alistair and Oghren experience in the tunnels, Shale's strength, Rory's tactical experience, Solona and Wynne's healing and magic. They were a small army. Hopefully the roads were as clear as the Prince thought, and they would be back sooner than she hoped.

                Zevran had waited patiently beside her. Solona's promise to induct him and Rory's warning about the future Queen had him willing to play the part of a well-behaved bodyguard. For the next few weeks at least he would be safe from Crow assassins, although dwarven ones were now an issue. The Prince had issued Elissa an eight man team of guards that rotated out every six hours, so she would always have two guards with her.

                They spent that first morning moving their things into the guest quarters in the Palace. All the excess gear they had left behind took three trips to move but it all piled nicely out of the way in Elissa's room. Elissa unpacked her things knowing she would be there for quite some time. She placed her important documents in a scroll case she had bought at a local merchant and sealed the box shut with the Grey Warden Seal, and then enclosed that with her own Highever signet ring, which she kept on her person. If anyone tried to look at them, she would know.

                It was nearing lunchtime when there was a light knock on her door. Opening it she saw a well-dressed casteless woman outside with her hands clasped in front of her. "Hello, Your Grace." She said nervously. "I am to guide you to lunch."

                Elissa smiled at the poor girl. She knew who the casteless woman was - she was Rica Brosca, and if Elissa played her cards right she would be a very valuable asset to her plans here in Orzammar. She put her arm out towards her, a noble's greeting to an equal. "Hello, you must be Rica. A pleasure to meet you."

                All the servants in the halls stopped and stared back at the interaction. The woman's eyes widen and she looked even more nervous as she stared at Elissa's offered hand, unsure if she should take it. She started to raise her own uncertainly. Elissa just kept smiling and leaded forward to take hers and shook it.

                "If we are both to be living here we best get off on the right foot." Elissa said brightly. "Please no more of the Your Grace address. Call me Elissa, please."

                Rica smiled very shyly. "Of course, Elissa."

                She turned to Zevran who gave her a flirtiest smile. "I am a most honored man to be surrounded by such beautiful woman, but please call me Zevran. I am the Queen's bodyguard."

                Rica blushed and looked down. "The Prince and his advisors are taking lunch in the Throne room."

                "Will you be joining us?" Elissa asked as they began walking towards the hall.

                "No, Your Grace." She said quietly.

                Elissa shook her head. "I must insist. You and I are going to become good friends I believe." She said with a confidence that Rica envied.

                "But, Your Grace, I'm just the Prince's mistress." She whispered, hoping that her presence wouldn't be taken as an insult.

                Elissa stopped and lightly grabbed Rica by the arm to stop her from walking any further. "You are far more than that." She gave the woman who looked ready to cower in fear a smile to reassure her. "My husband-to-be was also born on the 'wrong side of the sheets' as they say. That brand makes no difference to me Lady Rica."

                Rica was speechless. "She speaks true." Zevran said mischievously. "I would try to woo her away, but her Grey Warden is a formidable fighter."

                Rica giggled, a very nervous sound. "Still the Prince's Advisors would not approve of me sitting down with them."

                "Then after lunch I would like to sit down with you in my rooms so we can get to know one another, yes?" Elissa asked her, her tone made it sound more like an order.

                "Of course, Your Grace." She said once more shy. She bid them good day and left them outside the throne room.

                "She will be a good source of information. Good call to cultivate her." Zevran whispered.

                Elissa nodded slowly, the invitation had been an impulsive one, and one she would not have made several months ago, but now she needed to play the Game in a different arena, one where she didn't know the players, and something told her this woman knew the players but not the role she could be playing. "She is isolated here, she will be eager to talk to someone, it will help to elevate her boredom as a bonus." Zevran nodded with approval before he opened the door, together they walked into the hall.

                Lunch had been what she expected. The Prince and his advisors had given her information on the nobles who supported Bhelen and what goods and services they each were entrenched in. Elissa was getting a good overview of which families they wanted to introduce her to. From the plans Bhelen had set out before her, Bhelen was planning huge reforms for the Dwarves of Orzammar. Most of them she could see the benefit to, others not so much, but none of his plans were a game changer for her. He seemed to care for and want the best for his people. She couldn't fault him for that.

                The one that intrigued Elissa most was the proposal to greatly reduce the number of Casteless by allowing them to join the army to fight the Blight and attempt to take back the abandoned Thaigs of Aeducan and Ortan. Both were past the boarder and under Orlais. In return they would be granted acceptance into any family who wished to sponsor them. Elissa knew that it would take generations for that to happen, but every beginning had to start somewhere and wages and pensions earned as a soldier were better than the coin and dagger in the back retirement plan the Carta had.

                For the rest of the week Zevran had wandered the city listening to rumors from the shadows while Elissa spoke to Rica about the city and about the Nobles. Being what was called a 'Noble-hunter' before she took up with the Prince and fell in love with him, Rica knew enough about the other nobles to be considered a threat to some but not quite dangerous enough to do something about, and that was if they knew, she knew, their secrets.  Rica was also good at playing the stupid mistress. She was much brighter and cheerful once the doors were closed to Elissa's rooms, and once she was more comfortable with Elissa herself.

                Rica gave the queen a hard look. "Why do you wish to know so much about Orzammar politics?"

                Elissa sat back and crossed her legs. Her posture was the epitome of openness. "To put it bluntly Lady Rica; my country is on the brink of annihilation. We have a civil war going on, a blight to contend with, and not a lot of time to deal with it once my companions return from the Deep Roads. To be honest I don't think Ferelden has time for this excursion, but I need the help of the Prince if I am to stop all those things from happening." She said, giving Rica a honest assessment, knowing it would be reported back to the Prince later tonight. "I need to secure supply lines, food sources, lyrium sources and reliable communication lanes if I am to proceed."

                "And Bhelen? Where does he fit into all this." She asked sternly.

                Elissa laughed genuinely. "I like you... You remind me of me when I was learning how to play the Game." Rica looked embarrassed at being caught up in their conversation so easily she forgot not to ask direct questions. "I'll answer you simply, because he is the best candidate for your throne and that Ferelden needs as an ally once the blight is over."

                Rica bit her lip and looked away shyly. "So you only support him because he can help you."

                Elissa nodded and beamed her approval at Rica. "And that is the only reason he is helping me in return." She explained gently, she did not want Rica to become defensive. "That is how the game is played. Everyone helps each other only as long as it benefits them."

                "Would you ever turn on an ally?" She asked, giving up any attempt at trying to hide her need for information.

                "If you are wondering if I would turn on Bhelen the answer is no and I'll explain why." She told her, sounding more like an instructor. "First, my position as queen is not one hundred percent assured. There is still a chance the Landsmeet of Nobles will ignore the King's proclamation and my right as the highest ranking noble not of the Royal line to succeed Cailan. The second best candidate for the crown also cannot take the throne because he is a Grey Warden. That would be my fiancé Alistair. The third in line would be the man who is claiming to be regent for his daughter Loghain. By not supporting Bhelen I would be undercutting my own right to rule by refusing to follow the line of succession."

                Rica nodded, she wished she'd brought a quill and parchment to take notes. Her intense look of concentration was endearing to Elissa. "I can understand that." Rica said slowly.

                "Second, I need someone who is going to be willing to help Ferelden get back on its feet once the Blight is over. Bhelen has no plans to invade, retake or hold any of Ferelden itself as long as I have no plans to hold any of the dwarven lands underground. Which with the exception of some very shallow mines, by your standards, I have no interest in dwarven interests. " Elissa continued. "Trading partners and fair dealings will be key to seeing my people do not starve and freeze to death come the winter months. Above ground the winter get so cold the ground is covered in ice for many months, and food is pretty scarce." She explained.

                Rica's eyes widened at the news. She's heard tales but having never stepped foot outside Orzammar it was a bit like a fairy tale. To hear from someone who had actually seen such sights she was astounded they lived that way. "Lord Harrowmont wouldn't do that." She stated softly.

                Elissa agreed. "No, he would not. He wants to close the borders of Orzammar to outside influences as much as possible."

                Rica shook her head showing her confusion. "I don't understand why he is so set against it."

                "People fear change." Elissa shrugged unconcerned.

                Rica gazed at Elissa, not really sure what the human wanted from her, it seemed too easy. "Thank you so much for telling me all this, It makes me feel better about everything."

                Elissa nodded. "I piece of advice Rica." She waited for Rica to look up at her. "Always ask yourself; is this best for the people, and what's in it for the people pushing for their agenda?" She gave her a sly smile. "So the questions you are asking yourself right now, why is she being this forth coming, can she be trusted... Only you can answer whether you believe or not. As I have already told you, I am out of time, that is my motivation. My plan is to be friends with you and ask you to feel free to report anything I say that you feel is truthful to Bhelen, and anything I you don't report it as such."

                "Why?" She asked, not understanding what was happening. This was not how the game was suppose to be played."

                Elissa  gave her a look that let all her guards down, her eyes reflected the pain from losing her entire family in one night right before her eyes. "Because I have lost too much already and I have to save as many as my people as I can."

                Rica gave her a solemn nod. "I will remember that, Your Grace." Her own eyes filling with tears at the raw pain on Elissa's face.

                "Good," She nodded with approval at her, she looked away and slipped her emotional masks back into place. "My advice for the future would be to always supported the one who's agenda is most in tuned with your own and don't compromise your morals for a small gain. You'll never regain what you lost."

                Rica nodded, still a little shaken. "If you want to get those supply lines and food sources you'll need a few people on your side." She found herself advising.

                Elissa nodded softly. "I am aware, I am not sure who or how to approach them as I do not know the players here."

                Rica thought for a moment. "You'll need; The Assembly Stewart Bandelor, The Captain of the Guard Dencorn, and the Shaper Czibor to start with. Then a few houses who specialize in the goods and services you'll need."

                Elissa smiled widely at her. "Very good. And how would I approach them?"

                Rica smiled and the two sat down at the desk provided within her rooms to discuss the state of the political realm. Of the eighty families of nobles in Orzammar, only eight were of enough importance and could supply the things Elissa needed with any urgency. The four families with merchant ties were; Helmi, Bemot, Gavorn, and Meino. Between the four of them Elissa would have access to food, ore, silk, weapons and armor for the armies. Dace and Kondrat both had ties to the smith castes, allowing for specialty arms and armor to be supplied and the Ivo Family was a miner caste, which could supply lyrium as well as ore.

                Only House Ivo was leery of signing on to a supply treaty with Elissa should she win her throne. They had an exclusive contract with the Chantry. It had taken some leaning and a little blackmail to get the signature on it.

                Bhelen had been beyond thrilled with Elissa's success. Not only was it well known she was working on behalf of Ferelden as its future Queen, but she was also representing the Grey Wardens, and she supported Bhelen for King. Harrowmont's supporters had tried twice to have her killed. One plot was thwarted by Zevran killing the assassins before they even entered the Palace, and the second during a planning meeting, when everyone mysteriously disappeared.

                At only three and half weeks, Elissa and Rica were feeling very pleased with themselves. Now that they had conquered the Nobles. It was time to work on the Merchants themselves as they would be the ones who would have to deliver the goods to either Soldier's Peak or Kinloch Hold Docks where the staging areas for the army was likely to be.

 

Deep Roads

                In the first week that the Deep Roads expedition team had been gone they had yet to encounter any Darkspawn, only fanatical Dwarves supporting Harrowmont and more deep stalkers and giant spiders than any of them had ever seen before. That changed as they reached the further side of the Caridin's Cross. The Darkspawn had set-up an elaborate fort that was guarded by Genlocks, emissaries, Hurlocks, Shrieks and Ogre. There was even an Ogre Alpha and Hurlock alpha that seemed to be leading them in organized resistance.  They made camp as far away from the Darkspawn camp as they could that night trying to stay away from the smell of the decay.

                Wynne had been trying to talk to Alistair since they had left Orzammar, but he'd always managed to be either lost in his own happy thoughts or busy with some chore. Cleaning their armor and weapons in the tunnels was very important, not only could Wynne be infected if she was accidentally cut, the Darkspawn blood itself was slightly corrosive  over time and would damage the weapons and armor.

                She sat beside him at the fire despite his happy far-away look on his face. "May I speak with you Alistair?" She asked softly.

                He looked a little sheepish and she knew suddenly realized he'd been avoiding her. "Ah, yes...?" His answer came out more like a question. Rory and Solona suddenly made themselves busy on the other side of the camp. Shale was a ways up the passage keeping watch and Oghren was doing what he did best, drinking over by the other passageway pretending to watch.

                Wynne looked a little bashful herself. "I did not mean to make things awkward when I spoke to Elissa at the keep." she admitted softly. "I feel I owe you both an apology."

                Alistair had spoken to Elissa about Wynne's questioning. Elissa had been of the impression Wynne had been looking out for him, and not meant any harm. This fit with what Alistair's own perception of the older mage was and so he easily accepted it. He gave her a smile. "Your forgiven." He said simplify. He hated how nervous he got when he had to apologize for things, and wanted to make it as easy on Wynne as he could. He liked her, she was caring and a little sad, he thought.

                Wynne seemed taken aback by the simple acceptance. "I... Thank you." She stammered. "I did not think you would accept it so easily."

                Alistair shrugged. "You were being protective and worrying about both myself and the mission." He said staring into the fire, feeling the strain of being apart from Elissa keenly. "We both knew that."

                Wynne lowered her head in sorrow and regret. "Elissa did not seem so inclined to even listen to me before we left... I never got the chance to tell her I'm sorry."

                Alistair patted her hand. "She knows." She said with a sad look on his face. "She was the one who said you were concerned about me, and if things had been different, or she had been different then your apprehension might have been a cause for real concern. She knows how most of the Nobles are." He explained a little bashfully. "But please understand, she has issues with her temper right now. She just lost everyone she loves, except for Sole and Rory. She even thought she'd lost Rory until we found him in Lothering."

                Wynne nodded sadly. "I had no idea she was Teyrnessa Cousland until we reached Soldier's Peak. If I had... I might have realized before I opened my mouth that I had heard of her before. Everyone in Ostagar had heard about what happened to Highever." She stared at the darkness where the others were waiting, giving them their moment. "She is grieving, but she has found something in you that makes her happy."

                Alistair smiled shyly and nodded. "For that I'm glad. We all are grieving over something right now, and we all need each other." He stared deeply into the flames, he found watching them therapeutic, and the warmth they threw off seemed cheerful against the cold, pitch darkness surrounding them. "Together we are supporting each other, but we are having our outburst in different ways. Elissa has her temper, I have bouts of being absolutely quiet, Rory broods over what happened to his men and home, and Solona throws herself into learning about new things and ignoring the situation until she can logically think about it." After an moment of thought he chuckled, "Even Shale has her issues with birds. Of course I would too if I'd had my mouth open to the sky for them to..."

                "Yes.." Wynne said cutting him off as she nodded once more. She was intrigued by Alistair's assessment of the group. He had analyzed each person perfectly in her own opinion. She had to give him credit, he was smarter than he liked to pretend to be, if a bit crude when he chose to be. Of course that last bit might have more to do with the one companion he hadn't given an opinion on. The Dwarf was sexual aggressive with his crude comments, unlike Zevran he didn't have the grace to pull it off as flattery either, and he was beyond acceptable levels of obnoxiousness the rest of the time.

                "There's no hard feeling from my side of it Wynne," He said softly as he nudged her playfully with his shoulder," especially since you mended my socks for me yesterday."

                She chuckled at his light jest. "You need warm feet down here. It's surprisingly cold."

                He grinned boyishly. " Oghren said it was because we are between the Waking Sea and Lake Celestine. No lava flows here to keep us warm under the water."

                Wynne looked intrigued. "He knows where we are?"

                Alistair shrugged." We are currently in Orlais, in the Heartlands. He said the coldest parts of the Deep Roads are always under the water. Even the Deep Roads go around the Waking Sea for the most part. That why there isn't a straight run from Orzammar to Kal-Sharok."

                Wynne looked confused. "I'm sorry I don't know my geography as well as you do."

                "Oh." Alistair looked surprised, he'd assumed she knew about where they were going. "Kal-Sharok is the other large settlement of Dwarves. They live near the border of the Anderfels and Nevarra, just above where Nevarra's borders northern Orlais." He pointed out on the Deep Roads map approximately where the borders of each country would be. "We are going to this large mountain range, The Hunterhorn Mountains, it's to the west of Kal-Sharok in the southern regions of the Anderfels, just above The Tirashem Forest."

                "The Hunterhorn Mountains... Isn't that where the Griffons were found by the Wardens." She remembered.

                Alistair smiled wistfully. "Yeah, I wish I could have seen them, but they're all gone now."

                Wynne had nodded smiled. "Thank you for listening and accepting my apology."

                "Not a problem Wynne."

                She got up and started to walk away. "And Alistair, if you ever expect me to darn your socks again, at least clean them first. They were filthy." He looked up and grinned at her.

                Two days later they had to backtrack slightly to go around an area that had flooded and had trekked through the Ortan Thaig. On their way towards the Dead Trenches a small passageway had opened and Shale had stopped to stare at it.

                "What is it Shale?" Rory asked.

                "I know this passageway." She said somewhat surprised by the idea she remembered something. She'd gotten use to not remembering anything from before Honnleath.

                Rory looked at the wall. The opening was big enough for a regular sized Golem to get through, and he knew Shale's previous 'owner' had chiseled her down to her current size. He wondered if she had had made the hole herself.

                "We could take a look if you like." He said. "We have a little time. Besides we can't have an area nearby that might hide Darkspawn." Rory reasoned.

                "There are Darkspawn that way." Alistair told them. "Not many but some."

                "Let's mark the map and check it out on the way back." Solona said. The others quickly agreed and Shale gave her a slow nod.

                "I am not ready to go there yet." Shale said hesitantly, backing away from the opening.

                As they had gone further and further into the Deep Roads the group had begun to look more often to Solona for leadership. Once forced into a position where her opinion mattered Solona had taken to the responsibility well.

                 Without her realizing it Irving had been teaching her subtle leadership skills all her life. And what she hadn't learned from Irving she had learned from the older apprentices and enchanters she'd respected; like Wynne and Anders. All that had been missing from her life had been the actually responsibility. It was one of the reasons she had befriended Jowan in the first place. He had needed guidance as had Alim and several others she had taken under her wing when they first arrived at the Circle. She had been a leader in need of a group to lead and now she had one.

                Overall it had been a seamless transition from follower to leader. Wynne occasionally questioned her choices but when she explained her reasons Wynne seemed to be approving, which made her grow confidence in her abilities, but it was Rory and Alistair's approval that was making her feel that she was somehow not making a mess of things, and was actually capable of doing the job, even with the limited amount of knowledge they had. There support made it also seem more like a partnership with her guiding more than steering.

                Solona had also begun to follow Elissa's example of checking in with her team individually each night. She still didn't know Oghren very well. By the time she got around to talking to everyone he was too drunk for her to make much sense of what he was saying.  She was going to have to try talking to him before they ate, because he started drinking as soon as they stopped for the night and was completely incoherent by the time dinner was done.

                The only concern Solona had was she was beginning to feel the increases in sexual arousal that Alistair had warned of. With no privacy and Oghren's constant crude behavior she had hidden it thus far from everyone. Her respect for Alistair's self-control in the face of this nagging feeling grew every day as the tension grew at the same time. At least at some point it would level out.

 

A week later

                The Dwarves had been right the Deep Roads themselves were very quiet. Small packs of Darkspawn had been easily overcome here and there, but the spiders and deep stalkers had been more of a problem. Alistair knew different though, and he'd told her they were heading directly towards the largest gathering of darkspawn he'd sensed so far.

                The dreams had also been getting very intense for all of them, even Wynne was being affected. They were finally getting close to the 'Deep Trench'. The crack was leagues long and very deep. It stretched from the Urthemiel Plains in the south of the Tirashan Forest to the Northern edge of the Hunterhorn Mountains.  There were only a couple of bridges that were considered safe to cross over it, the one they were heading for was the largest of the bridges where the Legion of the Dead were known to make their base.

                As they came closer and closer to the trench the tunnels began to brighten. There was actual light coming from the trench. There was a roaring sound in Solona's head. It was like an ocean, waves of sound crashing on the shore, but thousands of them all at once, and yet it was muted, like it was far away.

                Alistair was nearly vibrating. "The Horde is here!" He whisper-yelled at Solona. "They are all around us."

                Solona stopped and looked out into the giant room that opened just before the trench. She could see the bridge easily without their own light source. "Put out our torches." She ordered, still whispering herself. "We don't want to give ourselves away."

                "Certainly don't need 'em do we?" Oghren said gruffly as he stomped the fire out from the torch he was carrying as Rory did the same.

                "It's so loud." Rory muttered.

                Solona turned to him. "Can you hear them too?" She asked.

                "Yes." He admitted looking terrified.

                "Me too." Alistair was alarmed. "They must be down there."

                Solona fearfully nodded. "I'm going to  take a closer look." She started to carefully make her way towards the edge. Rory and Alistair went with her leaving the others under cover.

                They took their time getting to the edge. The light was very bright below, brighter than a lava flow and the reason became obvious as they all slide forward on their bellies to look over the edge. Below them were thousands of Darkspawn. Every type Solona had ever heard of or seen and even a  few she had never seen before. She was suddenly overwhelmed with fear and nausea. She quickly moved back and puked up what rations she's had for breakfast earlier.

                Rory and Alistair weren't much better. They were about to move back when from further down the trench, slightly out of their sight before a form launched itself from the depths and beat the air with its massive wings. It was the Archdemon!

                Solona couldn't breathe. Her lungs refused to work as the huge dragon landed on the massive bridge they were going to have to cross over. From behind their cover the dragon couldn't see them but it's shadow on the roof of the cavern showing them its every movement. It seemed to be looking around before it launched itself into the air again and it flew overhead along the trench. It's tail came so close to her head Solona had to throw herself down flat to avoid the tip.

                She turned her terror-filled eyes to her companions only to find them both looking and feeling exactly the same way. The three of them stayed still for several minutes, catching their breath and allowing them to unfreeze their bodies before they managed to crawl back to their position.

                Solona couldn't control her trembling yet. "We wait a while before we go." She whispered as she looked away from them all. "Let's make sure the Archdemon has moved on."

                Everyone nodded silently.

                It was several hours and the Archdemon hadn't come back. Solona had finally managed to control her fear. The numbers of Darkspawn were overwhelming. Just how large an expectation of victory that they were expected to win was starting to sink in. They had to kill all those thousands of Darkspawn or all shapes and sizes and then the Archdemon itself. Even with every person who could hold a blade in Ferelden fighting the Horde they would be outnumbered. They were going to need more than what the treaties could get. They would need the King's army, the Wardens just outside the borders, the mages, Templars, elves and dwarves if there was any hope of defeating the enemy before Ferelden was a wasteland.

                "We're going now." She said emotionless as she stood and walked bravely toward the bridge. Rory and Alistair both looked at each other and grimly nodded. She was their leader and she didn't run. They both knew she'd been tested and she was ready. From that moment on she was The Warden-Commander of Ferelden, and no one was ever going to be able to take that mantle from her because she finally believed it.

                Alistair while still shaken himself looked on proudly. _I can see why you are going to be the Hero_ , he thought.

 

Two days later

                Once more there was light coming from up ahead. But this time there was not as much of a Darkspawn presence. Alistair had assured her that the numbers were larger than they'd seen in the tunnels but not so may that they should find another way around them. Oghren had also told them that the Legion of The Dead were suppose to be ahead.

                "Why are they so far from Orzammar?" Solona wondered.

                "Once they go into the Deep Roads they never come back." He told them. "They got their own rules, they ain't down here to protect Orzammar. They're down here until they die."

                Solona nodded. "Oh, I see."

                "The Legion is the Dwarves version of the Wardens." Rory remembered.

                "Yeah. But once they're Legion they are considered dead to the rest of the Orzammar." Oghren shrugged taking a drink from his skin, Solona could smell the alcohol from where she was standing.

                "Wonder if any of them would consider joining us?" Rory asked.

                "You were planning on asking weren't you?' Wynne asked softly.

                Shale curious. "Why would squishy dwarves want to pretend to be dead?"

                "Then never come out of the Deep Roads so they celebrate their deaths before they leave." Oghren explained.

                "We should get a move on." Solona said as she began walking forward.

                An hour later they could see a group of Dwarves battling Darkspawn on the nearest side of another bridge. With a battle cry the group rushed into the side of the Darkspawn. An emissary saw them coming and Solona ran towards the back of the group of dwarves as Alistair ran towards the darkspawn mage, as it began to cast a spell he smited the thing and it fell to the ground, roaring in anger.

                The battle was over in moments. The dwarves gave the group a nodded of thanks. "Get ready, another wave is coming." The leader said as he readied himself.

                The group stayed together and fought five waves of Darkspawn before there was a break long enough to consider their options.

                "We need to take the bridge." Rory panted. "Otherwise eventually they'll win."

                Solona nodded. "Will you charge with us?" She asked the leader of the Dwarves.

                He shook his head. "Our orders were to hold here. If you take it, we'll help, but we can't lose this bridge, it's too valuable as a bottleneck."

                "Then it's up to us." She nodded grimly to her team. "Wynne hold back and heal as needed."

                Less than an hour later Alistair was pulling his sword from the Ogres neck on the far side of the bridge. The dwarves of the Legion joined them.

                "These them doors are the gates to our Legion's ancient headquarters." The Dwarf told her. "We lost it couple of years ago.

                She looked up at the huge doors. She could never understand why Dwarves always made gigantic doors when they were so short. The doors were so huge the Ogre they'd just killed hadn't been able to open it.

                "Were is the Legion Leadership?" Solona asked.

                "You've looking at it." He grumbled at her.

                Solona looked at the five dwarves. "You're all that's left of the Legion?"

                "Here" He answered. " We have a camp two days away following the Horde."

                "We're going to need to talk to them if possible." She tells them.

                "You Wardens?" He asked.

                Solona nodded. "Yes we are."

                Te dwarf huffed. "Thoughts you's were all re-called from the Deep Roads to deal with yous'n Blight."

                Solona looked back at Alistair. "I was never told that, but we're much closer to Weisshaupt up here." He told her thoughtfully.

                "Yeah... reg patrols stopped coming bout two month ago, said your First Warden made the call." The Dwarf said gravelly.

                Solona sighed with relief, if the First Warden made that call two month ago, maybe the whole of the Warden Army would be ready to march by the time they arrived back in Orzammar. Even Loghain couldn't say a thousand Anderfels and Tevinter Wardens would be working for the Orlisians.

                "We need to go further into the tunnels after the paragon Branka." Solona explained to the Dwarf.

                He snorted. "That crazy bitch? She went through here near on two years ago, we ain't seen nothing o her or the rest of um since." His fellows laughed.

                Oghren started to step forward with his battle axe raised threateningly, but Rory stepped in his way. Solona gave the Dwarf a disappointed look. "All the same her husband is still hoping to find her alive." She said while gesturing back to the enraged Berserker.

                The Dwarf leader did  a double take at Oghren. "Yeah they can through here, but like I said aint no one seen them since they pass into the darkspawn held territories north of them tombs." He said jerking his hand towards the massive doors.

                Alistair groaned. "Tombs?"

                "Legion Tombs." The Dwarf Clarified.

                Alistair sighed. "Right, tombs and darkspawn what could possibly..."

                "Shut up Alistair." Rory groaned. "Do not tempt fate."

                Alistair looked sheepish. "Right, saying no more about it."

                "We hope to be back within a week, will that be enough time for you to get someone from the leadership to come see us. We need more information on the Horde to bring back to Ferelden." Solona asked.

                The Leader rubbed his bread. "We'll I suppose we could in that. You'll be clearing the field as you go so I can be sparing one o my men for a runner."

                Solona sighed thankfully. "Good we'll see you back here in about a week or so."

                They parted way, the Dwarves stayed to guard the bridge and the party moved out towards the Deep Trenches Thaig and the Legion of the Dead tombs.

 

**Chapter Break**

 

Four weeks

Orzammar

                Rica and Elissa had formed a fond friendship, and mentorship over the weeks of getting the nobles to agree to work with her for the fight against the Blight. Harrowmont's supporters had suggested sitting the fighting out since the humans never came down to help them fight the Darkspawn between Blights. Elissa had been proud to remind them that the Grey Wardens of all lands did indeed fight Darkspawn regularly, and ever since the return of the Ferelden Wardens twenty years ago they had been regular patrols of Wardens coming and going from Orzammar's Deep Roads. That had been a great day for the Bhelen supporters and had caused several families to defect to Bhelen camp. Elissa had said that the goal after the Blight was to have a full contingent of Wardens who would patrol the Deep Roads under Ferelden, and into the Free Marches. That announcement had even more support shift to Bhelen.

                Bhelen himself had even allowed Rica to start attending meeting with Elissa. His advisors had not been pleased at first but Elissa's tutoring in The Game had begun to show. Rica had played the part of the mistress, and guest advisor to Elissa perfectly. While in private they were much closer to friends than they appeared in public, only Bhelen knew that.

                They were now waiting for Zevran who had gone to fetch Dagna, the daughter of a local armor and weapon's merchant from the Commons. It was time for them to move onto the second phase of Elissa's plans; gaining the co-operation of the merchants. That was why they were sending for Dagna. She knew the merchants and was still considered a child by some, meaning they didn't watch their opinions if she was nearby. They also liked the idea of trying their successful partnership out on the next level. Rica would be practicing her skills on Dagna because they already knew what Dagna would want in return for her help. She wanted to study at the Circle, and Elissa had every intention of taking her when she left the city since that was her first planned stop. If the Circle wasn't will to take her, Elissa had a back-up plan, She'd arrange for her to learn from Sandal. The boy could use someone as interested in Enchantment as he was to help him. She wasn't worried Irving was pretty reasonable and Dagna would be free to come and go as she pleased since she wasn't a mage.

                "I'll warn you now, Dagna is a little excitable." Elissa explained to Rica.

                Rica laughed. "I know. She is one of the few in the commons area that will speak to dusters."She said fondly. "And she is only that excitable if you talk about anything magically with her. Otherwise was she is fine and very easy to talk to. Just very cheerful."

                "I hope so, she is such a little whirlwind whenever I have spoken to her." Elissa said cheerfully. "She stops me to see if I still intend to take her to the Circle once I leave."

                Suddenly they could hear Dagna's voice chattering away at Zevran as she walked down the hallway. Zevran had an expression on his face that Elissa never thought she'd see. He looked frightened; like a man who had just been handed a newborn frightened. Dagna had his enchanted dagger in her hands and from the sound of the words she was explaining to him the intricate work that went into creating runes. Zevran had one hand on his empty dagger sheath and the other was inching towards the dagger slowly as they walked. When Dagna looked up at Elissa Zevran took the chance and snatched his dagger back and placed it back into his sheath once he quickly checked to make sure she hadn't damaged the rune.

                Elissa didn't need to fake her smile as she held out her hand. "Hello again Dagna."

                "Oh hi, Your Highness, I mean, Your Grace. Is that the right address, cause you know you're going to be Queen and I'm not sure which one I am suppose to use. Humans have so many different titles, and means of address, dwarves don't, I mean we have kings and stuff, but we just use Lord for everybody else regardless of rank." Dagna was talking so fast Elissa only understood about half of what she was saying.

                "Slow down Dagna." Rica cut in. "Elissa is fine with just being called Elissa in private like this, in public call her, Your Grace."

                Elissa waved her off. "Or Elissa since I plan for the three of us to be friends." She said smiling.

                "Really?" Dagna asked in awe. "I'd be friends with you? Really?"

                Elissa laughed. "Yes, really."

                Rica got Dagna settled down with a tea cup in her hand. "We wanted to ask you for some help actually Dagna." Rica said pleasantly.

                "Oh! What can I do for you?" She asked, still very bubbly.

                "I'm sure you've heard about the alliances I have been making with the houses that have allied themselves with Prince Bhelen." Elissa explained.

                Dagna nodded her head quickly. It seemed the girl only had certain levels of energy, but all of them on enthusiastic. "Yes, it's been quite the scandal in the Commons. An outsider getting involved in our politics."

                Rica and Elissa shared a smile. This was the kind of information they could only rely on Zevran for and even as good as the assassin was being an elf in a city of dwarves had its disadvantage. They were aware of the rumors but getting someone who lived in the area and knew the people they would need to influence was something they needed so they could begin planning for the future beyond the political side of things.

                "Is there any way we can ease their concerns?" Elissa asked as she sipped her tea. "I don't want there to be hard feelings between the Crown of Ferelden and the People of Orzammar."

                Dagna smiled. "Well the merchants are worried about being bypassed when the trading with the surface begins. Not all of them have surface contacts, or networks they can use to move their goods."

                Rica smiled. "So they want promises to not being left out." She said to Elissa. "Money and promises to be included in the profits that will come in from increased trade. That is a reasonable concern, and one we can address easily, right?"

                Elissa nodded at Rica. "That is the next step we had planned to take."

                Dagna drank some of her tea and sighed with happiness at the flavor. "That will work with some of them." She explained with a bright smile she always seemed to have. "The rest are happy with the tariffs on buying and selling to the surface and such because they get a cut of the kick-backs and bribes for smuggling. They are the ones starting most of the unrest in the Commons Quarter recently."

                "Why doesn't that surprise me." Elissa sighed.

                Rica bit her lip. "Isn't this why we made friends with Guard Captain Dencorn?"

                Dagna sat up straight."Wait, what?" She looked surprised, as if the idea of talking about possible criminal activity, gossip really, would be reported to the Guard Captain.

                Elissa shook her head as she could clearly see Dagna's distress. "No, we don't want to start breaking criminal organizations. It's bad enough rumors exist that the Grey Wardens killed the Carta Leader." Dagna and Rica both looked much more relaxed at this statement. Zevran had given her a secret smile at the mention of the rumors. "All we want is to make deals with the Merchants that will to want to make a lot of money honestly," She leaned forward and smiled at Dagna," and that is where you come in my dear." He took Dagna's hand and gave it a squeeze of support.

                Dagna's eye widened and her breathing stopped. "Me?" She squeaked. "Really? Seriously? You're not joking are you I mean you actually asked me her to help you, because you know I mean you are so powerful, what do you need with a kid like me, I mean I'm not a kid anymore, but everybody thinks I am because well I'm not that old, but I am...."

                "Dagna!" Elissa called out loudly while trying not to laugh. "Take a deep breath." When the girl did, Elissa smiled. "And another." Dagna took one more. "Now to answer your questions, yes I would like your advice on who is trustworthy and who is not. You know these people and I do not." She said encouraging her to speak her mind and relax.

                Dagna gave her a wide open innocent look. "Yeah... I can do that." She breathed. "You trust me to do that?"

                "Absolutely." Elissa laughed. "Absolutely." She said with a meaningful glance at Zevran. He nodded his understanding. Anyone Dagna said wasn't trustworthy was going to be added to a list to be given to the Captain of the Guard as a person to watch. After all Rica was right, then had become friendly over the past month with the Steward, Shaper and Guard Captain. It was the least she could do, as a friend.

                And over the course of the next several weeks only six merchants were invited to the Palace to speak to group of women.  Between the six merchants she had; two armor smiths, three weapons merchants, three potioneers and two other merchants who specialized in other more fancy necessities, such as silks and cottons for under armor padding, and gems for enchanting. What she still didn't have was a merchant willing to move lyrium powder. While house Ivo was willing to supply it they were not willing to move it and violate their contracts with the Chantry.

                While most of the merchants left out had no idea why, everyone could assume it was because they seemed to support Lord Harrowmont. The only merchant that seemed to be left out of most of the negotiations who was both honest and a supporter of Bhelen was Dagna's father Janar. When asked why Dagna had shook her head and said, "He'll just back-out later when I leave the city with you." Elissa had accepted that and had Zevran omit Janar's name from the suspected criminal reports to Dencorn. The official reason he wasn't getting as much of the trade as others was the already had an armor smith on the surface producing Warden gear for them, which was hopefully true. It was always better to stretch the truth than to lie.

 

The Deep Trenches

                The tombs had been crawling with Darkspawn, So much so that Wynne had a close call with the taint. Solona had made Wynne purge for an hour and cast every healing spell she knew on the woman and even tried a barrier spell within Wynne's mouth to keep the darkspawn blood from touching her mouth on the way back up, if she had indeed swallowed any. From the looks of the purging, it looked like the specks of blood on her lips had been the extent of the exposure. She had been very lucky in Rory's opinion.

                Rory could honestly say he could feel the taint all around him. Even the walls in the Thaig were tainted. The fleshy bulbs were the most disgusting thing he'd ever seen. They were even worse than the blood magic ones in the tower. Wynne had taken to wearing a scarf that covered her whole face, except a small slit for her eyes so she could see.

                For the past few days they had been more and more on edge. Halfway through the Legion of the Dead Thaig things had gone from bloody and slightly creepy to evil and feeling it in your bones sinister. That's when the chanting could be heard.

                **_First day they come and catch everyone_**

**_Second day they beat us and take some of us for meat._ **

**_Third day the men are gnawed on again._ **

**_Fourth day we wait and fear for our fate._ **

**_Firth day they return and it's another girl's turn._ **

**_Sixth day her scream we hear in our dreams._ **

**_Seventh day she grew as in her mouth they spew._ **

**_Eighth day we hated as she was violated._ **

**_Ninth day she grins and devours her kin, now she feasts as she has become the beast_**.

 

                Solona looked fearfully to Rory and Alistair. "What does that sound like to you?"

                Alistair looked so completely appalled that his face lost all color, Rory wasn't much better. "It sounds like they took prisoners and ate the men but changed the woman into some kind of darkspawn." Rory finally managed to say.

                "But there aren't any female Darkspawn." Shale says quietly, she too is disturbed by the creepy chanting.

                "None that have been seen above ground." Wynne says sagely. "Not much is known about Darkspawn."

                "At least to non-Wardens and Dwarves." Oghren says gruffly. "I know we shoot any females being dragged off during patrols. Never asked why."

                "Right new plan." Rory said quickly. "Alistair stay in the back of the group with Oghren." He orders. "Shale up front with me." Shale nods. "And Wynne and Sole stay in the middle. I want no one able to sneak up and take either of them while we are fighting."

                "I suppose being made of rock means I have nothing to fear. While it is still in need of extra protection." Shale says to Sole. Her concern is as close as Shale comes to being affectionate.

                "I know I can trust you to do your best Shale." Solona says with a weak smile. She feels the urge to throw up, repeatedly. Suddenly the sexual stamina no longer seems like a cruel joke to her; it felt like a  death sentence.  The riddle that has been repeated twice now is leaving no doubts in her mind that the Darkspawn turn then rape the women they capture alive.

                Two rooms over they come across a Darkspawn ghoul. The ghoul named Hespith told them what became of the House of Branka. She told them everything that Branka did to get this far, and how she made a deal with the Darkspawn. Branka had traded all their lives to make a breeding Darkspawn from the living body of the Noble Laryn. Since that day Branka had been using the darkspawn to thrown against the traps the Paragon Caridin used to protect the Anvil of the Void.

                She confirmed Solona's worse fear, that the Broodmothers were the captured, turned and raped victims of the Darkspawn. Broodmothers were also immobile, which is why only those on their callings would likely ever get far enough underground to find one. Once she was finished telling her tale she ran off. Solona held the others back.            

                "Let her go." She whispered harshly, trying desperately to keep her tears from falling and stopping herself from screaming in rage and horror.

                Alistair was staring at her in just as much horror. Rory grabbed her roughly into a hug and held her tightly against his chest. "You are never going on your Calling." He promised her austerely. "I promise I will kill you myself if you ask, but you are not coming down here to die and possibly..."

                Solona began to cry and Alistair threw himself into the hug with the other two. They made room for him. "If I don't go then neither do either of you." She cried.

                Alistair blew an hard breath out. "That was the one thing about being a Warden I dreaded most, living long enough to come down here forever."

                Rory put his fist out. "Then we make a pact, when our time comes we die together, on the surface." He pledged.

                Solona quickly placed her hand over his and Alistair added his afterward. "Together." Alistair answered.

                Solona nodded slowly through her tears. "Yes, together. And thank you."

                Alistair pulled her closer and kissed her temple. "I'd never be able to live with myself knowing that could happen to you."

                Rory pulled them both closer. "One of us will always be with you if you ever have to come down here again, you hear me?" He ordered.

                Solona gave him a watery giggle. "Yes, Sir."

                Wynne and Shale looked on concerned while Oghren just looked defeated. "Knew she moved on." He muttered as he took a swig of his skin. "Knew she was nug-humper crazy too, wanting to find that damned Anvil."

                Solona turned back towards the group with one last swipe of her eyes. "Looks like we know why they were losing the battle here now."

                "Yeah, Branka making sure no one stopped her from reaching prize, or risk them taking out her little Darkspawn factory." Oghren growled.

                Solona winced but nodded. "Yeah... Let's go get her." She sighed. If Branka was as bat-shit crazy as Solona thought, this whole trip would be a huge waste of time.

               

                Nothing could have prepared them for the creature that awaited them. The creature was a huge bloated thing with multiple breasts, and it had eight tentacles that sprang from the ground trying to crush them. Wynne and Solona stood well back on the stone while the others rushed the tentacles and the broodmother herself. Partway through the battle several Hurlocks approached them from behind. Sole screamed in rage and fried one and froze the other with fury fueled spells. Alistair was distracted by her scream and was knocked off his feet for a moment before they finally managed to defeat the thing.

                Hespith showed herself and confirmed that the Darkspawn needed women to become broodmothers. She repeated her assertion that Branka had made the deal to sacrifice the whole family in return for unlimited darkspawn before she jumped off the edge to her death.

                Solona pushed them to move along the passageway some distance before she allowed them to stop for the night. No one spoke. The horror of the broodmother was just too much.

                In the morning they pushed on towards the Anvil. The trail was easy to follow there were dead dwarves and dead darkspawn to lead the way like a decaying trail of breadcrumbs. In a lighted chamber up ahead they could see a heavily armored dwarven woman, which since she seemed to be unblighted Solona assume was this Branka they were searching for.

                Oghren seemed overjoyed to see her. Branka wasn't so happy. She had a god-complex and believed herself to be above everyone else. She had set traps that sprung up walls behind them forcing them to move forward through the gauntlet of Caridin's traps in order to escape the caverns. To say they were unimpressed was a sever understatement.

                "Just once I want someone to say 'you need help with the blight, sure let me get my sword'. Is that too much to ask?" Alistair snarked.

                "Apparently you were wrong." Solona snorted.

                "About what prey tell?" Alistair asked.

                "The Blight doesn't bring everyone together." She moaned.

                Rory laughed. "But it brought the best of us together at least." He punched Alistair's shoulder playfully.

                Alistair chuckled, then whined, "Oww, Commander he hit me." Giving Solona a pout.

                "If it whines again, it will get something to serious whine about." Shale deadpanned.

                Wynne chuckled. "They are just joking Shale."

                Shale turned to stare at her. "As was I, could it not tell?"

                Solona chuckled. "Let's move on then." She said leading them toward the maze.

                Branka tried to justify her choices, whining about her house wanting to turn back rather than throw their lives away against the traps, for her 'glory' in finding the Anvil of the Void. There were several darkspawn that were currently in the gauntlet that they cleared out before heading into the traps themselves.

                The traps were engineering marvels that seemed to blend science and magic which was amazing as the dwarven people had no magic of their own. Their bodies were not capable of conducting magic properly.

                First was the gas chamber with golems that attacked the group, luring them out so the group could fight them in the clean air took a while but was much safer, it only allowed for the golems to attack one at a time.  After they were dead Shale moved in and released the gas from the room.

                The second trap was another Golem gauntlet. That was a hard fought battle. Wynne spent much of her mana casting healing. Afterwards the party took several minutes to recover and Wynne used two lyrium potions to keep her mana up.

                The third room impressed Solona. The rotating pedestal turned and released spirit warriors and the four faces shot spells at them. Working one facet at a time the party was able to quickly overcome the magic and the spirits. They were hit with one last wave of magic. Once more the group took time to stop, heal and bind their wounds.

                The final room was impressive. Inside were four huge stone golems and one metal one. The Metal one introduced itself as Caridin the Paragon who built the anvil.

                "The Smith Paragon Caridin... Alive?" Shale questioned.

                The Paragon recognized Shale and called her Shale of house Cadash. "Step forward."

                The rest of the party stepped back to allow Shale to learn everything she could about herself. It turned out she had volunteered to undergo a transformation from Dwarf into Golem. Her soul was transferred to the new body, which had been much bigger once upon a time. She had also been the only woman to become one willingly. Originally only volunteers where allowed to become part of the Golem Army used to beat back the Darkspawn. King Valtor needed more Golems than volunteers, knowing he needed souls to be cast into the bodies he began sentencing criminals, casteless and political enemies to be made Golems. When it became too much the Paragon Caridin refused to make more he was forced to undergo the transformation, but unlike Caridin his apprentices did not know how to create a control rod and he awoke in a much more powerful body. He admitted he sealed the Anvil away here in the Deep Roads so it could never be used again.

                Branka came running in like the deluded sociopath she was. She began screaming about the Anvil being hers and how no one even the man who made it was going to take it away from her. While everyone was shouting a trying to get Shale to agree with them, Solona stepped forward.

                "Considering we know you are willing to work _with the Darkspawn_ , I'm not inclined to agree with you Branka." She snarled as she brought her mana to the surface. Her body began to glow with a white-blue light. She didn't take her eyes off the now raging Branka. "I need the support of a Paragon for the new king to be crowned. He wants to fight the darkspawn and improve the plight of the casteless. Do I have your support Caridin?"

                "Yes." He said with relief. "If you agree to destroy the Anvil."

                "NO! I won't allow that!" Branka was literally foaming at the mouth with rage.

                Oghren stood up to Branka. "Look around at everything you lost, you stupid, worthless, nug-humping bitch. Was it worth everything you threw away to get here? Do you honestly think any of it is worth this?"  He growled at her.

                "Our empire is what is worthless, crumbling tunnels filled with the stench of darkspawn!" She yelled back at him. "With the Anvil was can take back our homes, pride and our glory!"

                Solona shook her head, if she hadn't thought it impossible she'd think Branka was inhabited by a pride demon. "The Anvil is a slaving tool. I will not allow it to be used as such, even if it is to battle darkspawn, when does it end Branka when every dwarf is a Golem? What then, the elves? Humans?" She snarled at her. "What you want is too close to blood magic."

                "You can never understand. You live your lives worrying about blights every several ages. We live our lives as if it is always a blight." She ranted at Solona.

                "I won't become a slaver!" Solona yelled back.

                "So it fights with Caridin. Good, that seems right." Shale said convinced.

                Caridin sighed with relief. "Thank you stranger your compassion shames me."

                "Bah!" Branka spat. "You are not the only master-smith here Caridin." She raised her arm holding a control rod. "Golem's obey me!"

                Caridin fells to his knees. "Please you must help me."

                Solona and the rest of the party fell into their well practiced battle positions. Solona concentrated all her magical spells on Branka, while the others concentrated on the Golems and Wynne waited back healing them as needed and casting arcane bolts. Branka went down to a blow from Alistair as she tried to rush at Solona. It was more difficult and Rory had need of some serious healing once the battle was over, a golem had managed to break his shield arm from a blow.

                Once she was sure Wynne had everyone else in hand she went to Caridin. The metal golem was back up and sighed. "Another life lost because of this accursed Anvil. I wish no one remembered it's existence."

                "Ah Branka was an obsessive pain-in-the-ass, I always thought this fascination of hers would kill her." Oghren said sadly.

                "How is that the woman was unable to disable me as she did you Caridin?" Shale asked.

                "I do not know." He admitted. "You always were a strong woman Shale." He said fondly. "I am glad you see you have survived the years so well. And now it ends here."

                "How can we help with that?" Solona asked." I am assuming if you could you would have destroyed the Anvil long before now."

                Caridin nodded approvingly at Solona. "Yes, one of the commands I cannot overcome is the one to do no harm to the Anvil."

                Alistair smiled. "I'm good at breaking things, not on purpose usually, but there is a first time for everything." He said joyfully.

                "Thank you human." Caridin said. "Is there a boon I can perform for you. You asked about the favor of a Paragon for your king."

                Solona nodded. "Yes we seek the favor of a Paragon to help elect a new king for Orzammar."

                Caridin nodded. "I can craft you a crown on the Anvil before you destroy it. That along with rubbings of the Golem registry and my own personal mark, I can grant you this." He said solemnly. "And once done I can seek my final peace."

                "Thank you Caridin." Solona said.

                He turned away and began to gather the metals needed and made his way to the Anvil. The party made camp. Solona and Alistair helped Oghren prepare Branka's body and waited until he said a few words before they slid her body into the lava flows nearby. Once Rory was comfortable and in a healing sleep she and Shale began doing the rubbings of the registry.

                It took the Master-smith a full day to create the masterwork of a crown. It was very heavy. Alistair made a crack about Elissa needing something much lighter for her own crown otherwise her neck would break. Along the inside of the crown were dwarven runes. Solona read them;

                _May he who is presented with this crown know the Paragon Caridin's favor, and may he be blessed        by the stone._

                "It's beautiful Caridin, thank you." Solona said sadly.

                "Do not be sad Warden. I have full-filled my purpose and am now going to my final rest which has been too long denied to me." He said carefully laying his hand on her arm.

                She nodded and turned to Alistair. "Please destroy the Anvil as we promised."

                Alistair nodded and walked up to the anvil. He placed the breaking wedge into a slot on the side of the Anvil as Caridin showed him. The hammer was huge and it took great effort for Alistair to lift it over his head and slam it down on the wedge. The lyrium infused Anvil cracked along the fissures. It was then that Solona realized the wedge had lyrium sand, not dust along the edge. She started to back up taking the others with her.

                "Wynne prepare a barrier around Alistair!" She yelled as she encased him in one herself.

                Wynne quickly encased him as he dropped the heavy hammer down again. The Anvil sparkled and began to glow. Wynne's eyes widened as she realized what Solona had noticed. The Anvil had been made to take blows so a simple wedge and hammer strike shouldn't be doing any damage to it. Caridin had created a slot for a explosive mixture that with enough pressure and a spark would cause the Anvil to explode. Alistair's next strike was all it took for the pressure and spark to ignite the lyrium sand within  the wedge causing the whole thing to explode and break apart. The blow back from the explosion caused Alistair to fly back. The barriers took most of the damage but he still cracked his head on the stone, knocking him out. Solona ran to him casting healing spells as fast as she could.

                Caridin looked back, "I'm sorry I didn't realize he could have been hurt. It's been so long since I was made of flesh... I had forgotten."

                Solona finished and sighed with relief. "He'll be fine." She assured him. "When he wakes he'll have a huge headache but that's about it.

                Caridin nodded. "Thank you." He turned and without another word allowed himself to fall forward into the lava flow.

                Solona turned to everyone else. "I think we've earned another day of rest before heading back, what do you say?"

                "I say yes!" Rory sighed thankfully. "I refuse to carry Alistair more than a few feet. That boy is heavy."

                Shale sighed dramatically. "We all know that when one of you fleshy-ones needs carrying I am the one to do it." She looked indigent. "I am the strongest one here, even if I am a woman."

                Solona couldn't help it she burst out laughing at the looks on everyone's faces.

 

                It took Alistair a full day before he woke with the expected headache. It took them only a another full day to get back to the Dwarven outpost on the other side of the Dead Trenches. The leader of the Legion of the dead was there waiting for them.

                "Commander! Well met!" The Leader called out heading towards Alistair. Alistair grabbed Solona and presented her in front of himself like a shield. The Dwarven leader looked a little surprised but chuckled and held out his arm.

                "Solona." She said formally, taking his arm. "Well met."

                The Dwarf laughed again. "Bardtrone, Legion of the Dead Commander. How are the tunnels?" He asked.

                "Cleared, there was a broodmother back there. She's dead now, as is every other Darkspawn we could find." Solona told him calmly. Over the past few days she's managed to bury her fear of being one of those creatures for now, mostly thanks to the pact she'd made with Alistair and Rory.

                The Dwarf choked. "All of them, and a broodmother?" He stared in surprise.

                Solona smiled. "I have three taint immune warriors, a dwarven berserker and two battle mage healers." She said as an explanation.

                The dwarf grumbled wistfully. "Healers..."

                Solona kept her face passive. It was nice to be envied for her abilities for once. "We have found a few things that might be of interest to you as well as an offer in exchange for any information you can give us on the Horde."

                He waved her off. "We'll talk what you have later. We'll give you the information on the Horde for free, you being Wardens and all."

                Solona thanked him. He took her and the others over to a pile of documents nearby. "As much as we can guess the number of Darkspawn raged from four hundred and fifty to five hundred thousand total." The Dwarf didn't look all that concerned but Solona was about to have a panic attack. "Of those only about twenty-five thousand are Ogres or Emissaries. Within those numbers  are about sixteen generals with two very intelligent ones we've never seen before, and of course the Archdemon."

                Solona pulled herself together. "That's more than I was hoping for."

                "Bah! They've been breeding for this for half a age." The Dwarf said gruffly, he'd noticed the paleness and youth of the Commander, but she'd proven her worth clearing out their old Thaig.

                "I see." She said thoughtfully. Elissa had said something about Maric knowing about a coming Blight and her father preparing for it. "How are your men holding up?"

                He sighed. "Be better if we had Warden support, but the First Warden re-called everyone to Weisshaupt for their march on the Horde aboveground."

                Solona smiled. "I have enough supplies that I can make up to two of your numbers Wardens if you like, but they would have to report into the Ferelden Warden Commander at least once every six months after the Blight is over."

                He looked at her with respect. "You ain't been a Warden long, have ya?"

                "Two months, and our Commander was killed the night I joined along with all of the other Senior Wardens." She admitted. She pointed to Alistair. "He'd been a Warden six months and Rory joined after me."

                The Dwarf looked flabbergasted. "Well let me tell you now. No Warden but you would make a deal like that."

                "Warden secrets." She sighed and rolled her eyes. "As long as the two we choose don't spill Warden secrets, I won't ask them to spill Legion Secrets."

                "Wardens secrets, ha!" He laughed. "We know more than some they send down here at their Calling. Lucky are the blighters that meet up with us. We kill them before they turn, or make sure their dead before they get taken alive.' He said meaningfully to her.

                Solona closed her eyes and shivered. "Thank you for that mercy."

                His eyes saddened as he knew she understood. "I'll take your offer, and I know as long as you're in charge they'll never be asked to report in elsewhere."

                She nodded. "If ever asked they can say they report directly to the Ferelden Commander."

                He laughed. "You know how to play rank... Good, I wasn't sure." He gave her a look of approval. "You'll need it with the Orlisian Wardens, nug-humping pricks the lot of them."

                "It'll take a few months before they can sense darkspawn far away, about six or so." she told him.

                "Tell the secrets to the ones who survive your Joining." He told her calmly. "I don't need to know."

                Solona nodded and pulled out the documents they'd found in the Thaig. "We found these. Shale thinks they might get the Legion itself Noble status in Orzammar. Would you like us to present it to Prince Bhelen to get recognized."

                He looked over the documents in amazement. "Aye Commander. That would be very nice of you." He looked at her sharply. "You're too young to be down here, and much too good to be a Warden." He grabbed her arm and shook her lightly. "Never let them take it from you girl." He said roughly. He looked up at the others and glared at them. "None of yea. The Order has too many in it that were given second chances that didn't deserve them. Don't let them take your honor. All that 'at any cost shite' is just that... shite, that should be ignored. Seen too much what happens when they ignore what is right for what is expedient at the moment."

                Alistair who had met the others was a little offended. The men he knew were good men. But then again he hadn't spent much time with them as he was always with Duncan more than anyone else. Solona just nodded and gave the gruff dwarf a hug. That seemed to make the tension in the air lessen as he forcefully and carefully pulled himself away with a scowl that didn't reach his eyes. "Way too damn young."

                Two Dwarves were brought forward. Solona wished she had more of the flowers but had left them with Cara to experiment with and to help her look for more and cultivate them. The two drafts were given to them and Alistair provided the words while Rory caught them when they fell. She didn't know if it was dwarven constitution or not but both survived.  Alistair, Rory and Solona explained everything they knew about being a warden. They were told until further notice to send all messages through Bhelen for now as he would be kept aware of where they would be or at least where the army would be gathering.

                Bradtrone was going to be sending a runner back to Orzammar to tell them about the retaking of the Legion's Thaig and offered to take letters back for them. Solona and Alistair both jumped at the chance. With that taken care of, they retraced their steps back towards Orzammar.

 

                On the way back they came to the passageway leading to the unknown location. As Shale approached it she breathed in deeply. "This leads to Cadash Thaig."

                Oghren grunted. "Cadash Thaig has been lost for ages."

                "This is the way to my home Thaig. I am sure of it." Shale say softly. "I remember."

                Solona nods. "I promised if you wanted to look, we'd look if you want."

                "I think I would." She said softly.

                The party didn't have to travel far. The Thaig itself was only a day's journey. The passageway had been relatively clear, only a minor spider lair on the way. Solona was starting to feel  nauseated and Alistair had confirmed that she was now sensing the Darkspawn as they were getting fairly close.

                The Thaig itself looked to be in much better condition than the Deep Trenches Thaig had been and certainly more than the ones closer to Orzammar. Shale seemed disturbed by her lack of memories and more so by the amount of darkspawn inhabiting the roads. There were a larger than normal amount of shrieks making up the number of darkspawn, mixed with the Elvin ruins it made Cadash Thaig interesting and unique.

                Near the far side of the Thaig was a large statue monument to the volunteers that became golems. Solona was surprised by the sheer size if the tablet with its small writing that listed every dwarf and the dates they enlisted. Looking around she wasn't surprised the Thaig had been sealed, it looked like almost every male in the Thaig had to have volunteered. The numbers increase dramatically from the time Shale became a golem compared to the end.

                Shale's memory was sparked by seeing her name engraved on the stone. She even remembered the day it was done, she had been there to see it. Her family looking on proudly. It troubled her to remember being 'squishy'.

                Near the monument was a large number of the augmentation crystals that hadn't been disturbed in ages. Shale was beyond thrilled when Solona harvested several different types of perfect crystals, Depending on what they were going to face Shale would have both protection and weapons for different situations.

                They also took a tracing of the Cadash monument, along with the surprisingly large amount of gold they'd found in the Thaig. Now that they had finished looking around it was time to camp because in the morning they'd be going straight back to Orzammar, no more side trips.

 

                It was nearing the end of the second month now and while Elissa was proud of what she and her little team had managed to accomplished since she had last seen the rest of the party off to the Deep Roads, Elissa was sorely missing Alistair.

                Her time alone had also allowed her time to work through her grief, something she had been half avoiding and half just not had time to deal with until now. Zevran had been quite good at arranging sparing matches with the guards when she needed to let off steam, and partnering up with her himself when she need to train, or exercise to keep in shape. Their guards had been helpful with that also.

                Her time alone had also made her realize her feelings for Alistair was very much real, not that she'd ever doubted that. Unlike when she had first started to feel something for him, she now knew her feelings were not the product of any other intense feelings she had been dealing her. She still worried about how he'd fair at court with the nobles once his secret was out.  Despite his declarations before he left, she did worry he would withdraw from their relationship once he was subjected to the actual reality. Being Prince-Consort to a Queen  would be intolerable to most men. Thankfully Alistair was not like that at all. He'd also have duties to take him away from court if he ever needed to take a break.

                That left her thinking about Solona, making her Warden-Commander had been a gamble, but with Alistair's recommendation it was a done thing. As senior Warden it was up to him to decide who would lead. She planned to make sure that any politics outside of Ferelden didn't interfere with Ferelden's ability to field Wardens ever again. Warden Commanders of Ferelden would have to be Ferelden by birth or adoption.  She'd make it a law, especially if she could arrange for the Wardens to never have to worry about Tithes again. Their own Arldom without a Right to Succession to the Crown would give them an income, a base of operations that wasn't hidden in the mountains, and a voice at the Landsmeet without being a noble themselves. The Warden-Commander could be the voice, as an acting Arl or Arlessa, granting whoever they wished to be at the Landsmeet as a proxy. She really hoped to swing this with Howe's estate once he was convicted as a traitor. Seemed fitting to give it to the Wardens rather than the rest of the Howe children. It also was convenient that Soldier's Peak was also within the Arldom's borders.

                There was a second reason to avoid Tithes if she could. When the Blight was over no one was going to have extra money to pay a tax that hadn't been needed in Ferelden in over two hundred years. The fact that Maric hadn't re-instated it before the Blight would be used against implementing it after. There would also be blow back because the Wardens had supported her by any Loghain supporters, and there would be some. They would use it was an excuse to hold up meaningful reconstruction efforts for their own purposes.  She sighed knowing that she'd have to be very lucky for Loghain so somehow die before she was crowned. She almost envied Bhelen, he knew he would either die, or Harrowmont would, once the fight for the crown was over.

                Dwarven politics had been both harder and easier to deal with that she'd ever imagined. It helped immensely that she had gotten Rica on-board right from the start. The girl knew EVERYTHING about the nobles. She had access to her old Carta bosses records from when she was a Noble-hunter. Her brother had liberated them before he'd been executed for fighting in the Provings under another fighters name. She knew what every family was into and she'd shown Elissa the files on the families she recommended she use. With those files she had blackmail on everyone, and they had only needed to use it once. Everyone else had seen the potential of the trade agreements with Ferelden.

                Another benefit of the friendship style mentorship she'd developed with Rica was she could act as a go between with Bhelen and herself, unofficially, and it cut a lot of the guesswork and red tape of negotiations because Elissa had been open about her dealings. For once she had no concerns about being cheated because there was nothing in for Bhelen to need to cheat her for. She had originally intended to take on as many of the casteless as she could on as possible Grey Wardens, however Bhelen had asked her not to because he was planning to add them to his army that would first march on the Blight and then joining in patrolling trying to push the Darkspawn back enough that they could retake a few Thaigs. Elissa had agree but asked that any prisoners that he could not conscript for political reasons be reviewed by the Wardens to see if they could be conscripted there, he'd agreed as long as it wasn't Harrowmont himself. All that had taken two days of going back and forth with Rica. In actual negotiations that could have taken months.

                Elissa had gone one step further, she knew as mistress to the King Rica's life would at some point be in danger, She recommended that Bhelen name her ambassador to Denerim when the time came so she's always to able to come to Denerim for extended periods of time if needed. Bhelen had been downright cheerful since she'd made that suggestion. He'd been getting blowback from his advisors due to the relationship Elissa had formed with Rica, now at Elissa's request that Rica be a welcome member of her future court they'd backed off quietly.

                Dagna had also made the process easier. They now had the infrastructure in place to get the goods and information from Orzammar to her troops. In fact the Dwarves had contacts to every City-state and country in Thedas. Getting anything through the Dwarves might be expensive on occasion, but no one could be guaranteed to deliver better than the Dwarves.

                All in all her time in Orzammar had been very productive, both emotionally and politically. She knew her temper would never be as calm as it had been before Highever, but it no longer blazed out -of-control making her mouth run off on its own. She still couldn't believe she had blurted out her noble status and her Warden-ally position to the entire party. While the Warden-Ally thing had not been her fault she still could have limited the exposure by dismissing the non-wardens from talking to Avernus. She had been too angry to think straight, but that wouldn't be happening again. At least Alistair still had his secret.

                She looked down at the three message in her hand and smiled tracing the letters with her fingers. They were three weeks old. The first one was from the Legion-commander, it  said the Warden-Commander of Ferelden had consented to make two Legion of the Dead into Grey Wardens to help them track the Horde better and that they were on their way back to Orzammar, but they had one little side trip to make first.

                The second letter was from Solona, it was short but to the point.

 

                _Elissa,_

_Found two Paragons! Sided with the one that's not bat-shit crazy! I'll explain when we see you.                Found out about Shale, she's asked us to check out a side passage on the way home. Might be       worth it politically and monetarily so we're going._

_Love Sole._

  1. _I'm going to kick your ass for making me Commander_.



 

                Elissa had laughed over that.

                The third letter was from Alistair and it was a little longer.

 

                _Hello My Love,_

_I am really glad you haven't been here to see this. The things we learned that the Grey Wardens                haven't told us is frightening. Sole didn't deal with the discovery very well. Turns out the Taint              eventually turns Wardens into Darkspawn, and the woman, it's bad, bad enough that I promised          Sole she's never going on her Calling, and neither are Rory and I._

_Sole is also beginning to suffer the effects of the stamina increase. Poor Wynne had to be            carried by Shale one day because she couldn't keep up anymore. Sole's temper is getting the                better of her too. She nearly took Oghren's head off when he suggested she just work off her            tension. Of course he said it much cruder._

_We are all still in good shape, just very tired of travel rations and sleeping in shifts. And I miss     you very much. I wish we hadn't had to go so far and for so long. I hope you have missed me as much as I have you. You can't imagine how much it meant to hear you say I love you. I really              can't remember anyone ever saying that to me before. I love you so much, and I can't wait to              see you again. I'm out of parchments so I'll just say good-bye for now._

_Love Alistair Therein_

 

                Elissa smiled fondly at the messy scrawl. The outer scouts had sent back messages saying they were back from their side-trip already and heading back to Orzammar, all of them in good spirits. He'd estimated they should be back later that day, around dinner time.

                Elissa had been pacing in her room and driving Zevran insane with her constant sighing and shuffling of documents. He'd even sparred with her until she'd nearly took his head off when someone had entered the room unexpectedly and she spun to see who.

                He sighed. "Would you rather wait down by the entrance, darling?"

                Elissa's head snapped up. "No, I..." She looked away. "It wouldn't be proper." Her face flushed both with aggravation and shame for wanting to be there and knowing it would be seen as weakness by the nobles.

                Zevran laughed. "You've become a good friend to the future King's Mistress, Cuccioa. That ship has sailed, yes?" He said laying back on her bed in a suggestive pose. "And have kept me in your rooms alone for hours." He pointed out.

                She rolled her eyes. "Inside the palace doesn't matter."

                Zevran laughed again. He sat up and gave her a condescending stare. "You know Palace maids are the worst gossips there are, mi Cuccioa." She scowled, she was going to hit Rory for telling Zevran her nickname, his version of pup in Antivan had raised some eyebrows among the Nobles. "They have already labeled us lovers, non?"

                Elissa glared at him. "And you encourage it." She growled.

                He laughed. "It is amusing. We all have our hobbies."

                Elissa sighed and threw a pillow at him before sitting down. "Do you really think it won't matter to my reputation if I go wait for them?" If it was the human court watching her she would never do that. Watching from the walk of the battlements would be considered alright, but not going down to the gates. Cailan could get away with that, but she wasn't Cailan.

                Zevran gave her one of his rare serious looks. "No, it will not. Especially if you wear the Warden Cloak Dagna gave you."

                Elissa smile widely. "You are going to be a good Warden Zevran." She said before she turned and sprinted to her closet to take out the cloak and placing it around her shoulders in an expert twirl of fabric and clasping the throat closed on one motion.

                Zevran was smiling with a look of contentment. While he'd never show it, her approval of him, and the trust he'd earned from her over the past two months had meant more to him. He'd never had the opportunity to have a true friend before. Sure he'd made friends with his fellow Crows, but one always had to watch ones back to make sure that friends wasn't trying to place a dagger in your back. With Elissa he knew that she would never do such a thing. Arrest and try him if forced to, yes. Kill him to get ahead, never.

                He quickly followed her down towards the Commons area to were the Deep Roads entrance lay. The guards saw them coming, and one held his hands out to the other for payment. Zevran winked to the guard collecting his money. He knew Elissa would not be able to stay away all day and had told the guard this when he asked.

                Elissa stopped at the edge of the Walkway of the Commons. Zevran gave her a quick nod. "I'll go see if there is any news Your Grace." He said with a bow for anyone watching. Elissa gave him a short nod but kept her eyes focused on the tunnel.

                She was second-guessing herself. A watched pot and all that, but she didn't want to wait a second longer than necessary to see her beloved or her cousin and best friend. She continued to stare at the opening until Zevran came back.

                "Sorry, no word yet, but they aren't expecting anyone else today except the Wardens." He told her.

                She just nodded and stared again. He was coming she knew it.

 

                Solona was trying not to laugh. She didn't think it was possible for a fully grown, heavily armored man to look like a child, but Alistair was seriously making a great impression of one. The man was charging ahead and then she'd call him back, and he'd reluctantly wait for them to catch-up, he'd stay for a bit then again charge forward. Wynne was doing her best but she was so tired that keeping up with Alistair's punishing pace had winded her. She needed to use her staff as a walking stick and had been using her mana to help her keep up until now.

                "Damn it Alistair enough." She yelled. He instantly stopped and looked back at her with a heartbreaking look.

                "But it's only two more miles." He complained.

                Solona sighed, looking back at Wynne who has really starting to fail. "Go, but if a hot bath isn't waiting for me when I get back I will castrate you!"

                Alistair's face lit up. "You bet Commander!" He yelled as he broke into a full out run.

                Rory chuckled. "There is no way our bathes will be ready, you know that right?"

                Solona groaned. "I can dream damn it."

                Rory laughed and walked over to Wynne. "Let me carry you Wynne." He said gallantly. "It is rare I get to act like the knight I was trained to be."

                Wynne gratefully took his hand. "Thank you. I tried..."

                Solona waved her off. "Without Alistair driving the pace we can take our time, it's only two miles and then we'll be taken care of."

                Wynne groaned with sudden pain as she was lifted off her feet. The blood had been pounded out of the bottom of her feet and now that she was off of them she could feel the blood and swelling rush into her abused feet. Solona gave her a sympathetic smile and poured some healing magic into her legs, making them feel better but she still needed rest to fully recover.

               

                Elissa was so obsessively watching the entrance she didn't notice that others had joined her until Rica touched her arm. "Elissa? Are you alright?" She asked.

                Elissa jumped and turned to her. "Oh Rica!" She then noticed Dagna and several of the other people she had met over the past several weeks standing nearby. "I'm fine." She said, suddenly feeling foolish for being caught waiting like a little girl to see her first crush.

                Rica just smiled fondly. "I'd be jumping up and down in excitement were I in your shoes." She admitted.

                "I'd be running down the tunnel." Dagna chirped. "How you can still be standing here waiting I have no idea."

                Rica chuckled. "It's called decorum Dagna."

                Elissa laughed along with Zevran and Dagna. "We all know I don't have a clue how to act with that... or how to be calm when it comes to something I want as much as she does her fiancé." Dagna said giving Elissa a little playful nudge.

                The chuckles of the other people gathered who overheard Dagna's comments from around her had Elissa blushing a faint pink.  "Dagna!"

                "There's a light coming from the tunnel." Zevran warned her.

                Elissa turned in time to see Alistair burst through the entrance of the tunnel, only to stop suddenly in surprise to see so many people waiting for them. Elissa took a deep breath and began to walk forward. Alistair saw her and didn't wait for anything. Despite being dirty and sweaty from the tunnels he ran forward and pulled her tightly to him, taking in the sight of her like a man long denied his hearts fondest desire.

                They couldn't see Elissa's face from where they were standing but Alistair's expression of pure happiness and adoration was making Rica and Dagna melt from the romanticism of the moment.

                Alistair pulled back and stared at her for just half a second before he felt an overwhelming need, pulled her head forward and kissed her. Dagna and Rica began to playfully cheer, which in turn had the crowd began to cheer along with them.

                Zevran chuckled. "Perhaps I should go and warn the Palace staff to have their baths prepared."

                Rica shook her head. "No, stay and welcome your friends home Zevran. I'll go and get their accommodations prepared. They'll want real food too."

                "Remember what Elissa said about their appetites. Huge portions even for the women." Dagna reminded her.

                Rica laughed and waved. She couldn't help a little squeal of delight to see Elissa and Alistair were only just breaking their kiss. Elissa's face was turned towards her now held a look of joy that was making her friend look more beautiful then she'd ever seen her. She turned and began to run for the Palace with a smile.

                It took Elissa several minutes to realize Alistair was alone. "Where are the others?" She asked, suddenly concern that she couldn't see them.

                Alistair gave her a bashful look. "I was driving them insane, trying to hurry. Sole told me to go about two miles back."

                Elissa began to laugh. All the emotions bubbling to the surface made the comment so much funnier than it truly was, and she couldn't stop laughing. Alistair couldn't help joining her and it took them several minutes to gather themselves enough to stop.

                Zevran walked up to them. "It is good to see you again Alistair." He chuckled.

                Alistair nodded to him. "Good to be back."

                "We should get off the street, Your Grace." Zevran reminded her. When it had been only friendly people and friends Zevran had been fine with watching, but the cheering had gathered a larger crowd and now he could see less friendly faces in the crowd.

                Alistair looked down at Elissa. "Trouble?"

                Elissa smiled. "Nothing I can't handle." She said showing her armor and sword under her cloak.

                Alistair nodded and stepped forward to stand protective. "Shall we get back to the Palace?"

                Elissa looked back. "We should wait..."

                Zevran shook his head. "Go with the guards and Alistair, Your Grace. I will wait for the others and escort them back."

                Elissa looked torn but nodded before turning to look at Alistair once more and her expression  melted into a warm smile once more. She fell into step beside him and they began the walk back to the Palace together.

                The crowds had mostly began to disappear once Elissa had left, but there was still a small crowd when the others came out. Zevran cried out, "COMMANDER!" And ran forward. Playfully since it had gotten the crowd going for Elissa and Alistair he threw himself into her arms. Solona was too surprised to not catch him.

                The crowd seemed to find the spectacle more funny than the one earlier and there was more laughter than cheering although there was some of that. When he went in for a kiss Solona placed her dirty gauntlet in the way, causing more laughter.

                "I'm guessing Alistair made it then." She asked dryly.

                Zevran pouted at her. "I throw myself at you and you ask after another man. I am hurt Commander."

                Solona snorted. "Zevran, I am tried, hungry and not in the best of moods right now. If I don't get a very hot bath and some real food in the next hour I will be extremely cross."

                "And no offence but I would like to put Wynne down at some point." Rory stated from behind them.

                "Are you saying I'm getting heavy young man?" Wynne asked with an arched brow.

                Rory chuckled and bounced her, making she gasp and grab his shoulders. "Not at all Wynne, just that it's been a long day and I want to same things, unless you are offering to join me in my bath?" He teased back.

                "With a bosom like that I would like to join you too." Zevran said lecherously to the pair.

                "I guess... I'll be at Tapsters if you need me." Oghren said gruffly as he began to walk away. Solona reach out and grabbed him to the shoulder.

                "Oh no you don't. You're with us, you go where we go." She ordered in her best Commander voice. She began to walk forward again dragging the protesting Dwarf behind her.

                "Just like a damn woman, ordering me around." He grumbled.

                "I'm sure the palace has better ale than Tapsters." She giggled. Suddenly Oghren stopped protesting.

                "Well you'd be right there." He said and began walking faster towards the Diamond District.

                "I would like to get this nasty Darkspawn dust off me to. How it can stand to smell itself is beyond me." Shale said disdainfully.

                Solona shared a smile with Rory and Wynne before leading the way back.

 

                Elissa had to lead Alistair through the palace to their rooms. As they approached her room she saw Rica leaving.

                "I've prepared the largest baths we have for you, Elissa." She winked and laughed. "Have fun, I'll delay dinner by two hours for you."

                Alistair blushed but Elissa chuckled. "I love you, Rica." She said as she pulled a gaping Alistair into the room.

                "Did she just say she was giving us time to--"

                "Fuck each other senseless?" She asked suggestively. "Yes." She breathed into his ear.

                Alistair turned and pressed her against the door, but Rica had seen them coming and hadn't latched the door closed. They stumbled into the room as the door flew open, twisting them until they were sprawled across the floor with himself underneath her.

                Elissa was laughing so hard she couldn't stay on top of him and fell to his side. "Alistair, as much as I want to keep kissing you, you need that bath!"

                Alistair smiled widely, "I can't believe I'm here, finally."

                She helped him up and walked over to close and lock the door. "I've been waiting a long time for this."

                He looked down. "I've been very glad my armor hides everything because I would have been very embarrassed by how often..."

                Elissa laughed. "I've been lucky that I have private rooms to... ease my tension."

                Alistair growled playfully, "Evil woman."

                Elissa just laughed again, she felt so much lighter this time. Last time had been more than a little awkward because they both had very limited or no experience beyond self-indulgent touching. Alistair had been very patient with her. She knew most virgin men's first times, at least those she knew were with 'experienced' woman so they could learn properly. Alistair didn't have that experience, but he'd obviously listened intently to the other men while they talked, because he'd  known enough to be very close to the right spots and knew enough to not move forward into straight sex right away.

                "Let me help, Alistair." She said breathlessly; she been imagining this moment since the first night after he'd left.

                He gave her a loving smile. "As my Queen commands." He stood and placed his hand out gallantly to help her up.

                She stood and then slowly moved behind him to place her hands on the straps of his breast plate. She took her time removing each piece. He'd pulled his own gauntlets off before she could chastise him with a gentle, "Let me, please."

                He'd looked behind him and gave her a slow nod and then looked forward, closing his eyes and sighing contently with each caress of her hands as they moved his armor out of the way and placed them on a nearby armor stand.

                His body was a perfect work of art, Elissa was still in awe after all this time. She slide her fingertips along his cloth covered spine as she moved to remove the belts and other straps holding the chainmail and hip guards from his waist. She knew she was driving him crazy when his breathing would hitch, or he'd clench his fists tightly or open and close them quickly.

                She slid down his legs to remove the last few pieces she could.  When she began to move her fingers down to his boot he lifted his right foot without needing to be told. Once he was out of the metal she stood back. The amount of darken patches on the under armor could be darkspawn blood that had seeped through during combat, and she knew he'd be worried if she touch it so she stepped even further back.

                She brought a basket forward and placed it in front of him. "Take off everything and place it in here. The servants will burn them later." She said softly.

                Alistair was surprised at first, until he looked down and realized just how ruined the padding was. He grimaced. "Oh yes, you shouldn't touch any of this." He said as he began to tug his shirt over his head.

                Elissa's gasp as his sweat covered torso was uncovered made him pause. He knew that sound, he'd dreamed of making her create it over and over; it was the sound that escaped her each time he touched a new part of her sensitive skin. He smiled to himself as he slowed his movements, teasing her a little. Fair was fair, she knew he loved it when she touched his back, she'd done that last time and he'd nearly fell catatonic with pleasure.

                Once his shirt was removed he dropped it slowly into the basket and watched her. He found it amusing that her eyes followed his hands as they traveled down towards the lacing on the front of his pants. The way her chest was heaving had him desperate to distract himself, otherwise he wasn't sure he'd make it out of the bath before needing to come at least once.

                Elissa wasn't doing much better, herself. Inwardly, she could feel the tightening of the muscles inside her, each flutter of them made her want to rub her thighs together, but she didn't want anything to encourage him to stop doing this! She gasped once more as he moved to lower the leather pants down his legs. Since leather had to be pulled down and would not just fall on its own, Elissa was subjected to watching as he leaned over at the waist to pull them down past his knees and then lifted each foot, pulling them through and placing his feet back on the floor, removing his socks as well, leaving his feet bare. As he lifted himself back to standing, Elissa finally noticed that he'd removed his small clothes, too. Her eyes widened as she quickly and unconsciously licked her lips.

                Under any other circumstances, being stared at while completely naked would have Alistair reaching for the nearest piece of cloth, instead he felt powerful. Until now he'd never felt as wanted and desired as he did in this exact moment. Fighting his instinct to grab and kiss her senseless, he turned his body so his hip obscured her view and began walking slowly to the bath.

                Breaking Elissa's stare woke her up and she growled at him, "Get in the bath now Alistair." She stalked forward, red faced with knowing how she'd gawked at him so openly. Placing the basket by the door, she double-checked the latch so they would be safe from unexpected visitors. Quickly, she removed her own armor and placed it on the stand, leaving her only in leathers, under armor and a shirt, she rolled her sleeves up so they wouldn't get wet while she helped.

                Alistair was surprised at the size of the tub. At six foot two he was often scrunched up when he had baths; most tubs were just not big enough for his legs to stretch out. He actually was able to lay his legs flat along the bottom and still sit back with the water reaching mid -chest. The water was still hot enough to sting to the touch, but after months of being cold he reveled in it. His desire cooled slightly as he let the warmth soak into his muscles and bones. "Oh Maker that feels so good." he moaned contently, letting his eyes flutter closed. "It was so cold down there, and dark."

                Elissa blushed at the sounds he had made and picked up the small bucket with sandalwood soap and a washing cloth. Rica knew she loved the scent of sandalwood and that she would want to bathe him herself. She really was a good friend, making sure Elissa had everything she'd need for today and tonight.

                She lathered up the cloth and sat on the stool so she could reach him easily. "I'm sorry you had to go." she whispered as she picked up his arm and began to rub at the dirt so deeply embedded into his skin. After two month of the Deep Roads and not being able to do more than wipe the dirt off with his hands, the dirt was putting up a bit of a fight.

                He looked at her lovingly. "I hated being away from you." he said, looking deep into her eyes. He loved the golden centers of her eyes, rimmed by vibrant green; they were very unique and drew him in every time he had the chance to be this close.

                "I hated being away from you too." she admitted shyly. She blushed from his gaze and concentrated on moving the cloth over his skin, first his upper arm, then lower, moving down to his hands. He watched her with awe as she moved so carefully, yet firm; his skin would be raw if he'd been doing the scrubbing. He was perfectly content to let her do this for him.

                She moved to his back and he leaned forward, wrapping his arms around his knees. He could feel her hands trembling slightly as she moved to his lower back under the water, and how her hands grew more firm and confident as she moved up his sides to his other arm. She repeated the ritual she'd started on the other side but when she reached to his chest he took the cloth from her.

                "Will you wash my hair first?" He asked softly.

                She nodded. Still not saying a word she took a bucket of clean water and had him tilt his head back as she gently poured it over his head. As she sat up she gently lathered the soap into his hair, using her long nails to scrub his scalp, scouring away the dirt and blood. He hissed with pleasure as she worked; there was something about this woman and her touches that made even a simple thing like washing his hair almost sinfully delightful.

                She took her time and added more soap several times, once she was satisfied, she had him tilt his head back once more and rinsed it clean. Wet and clean his hair had a distinct reddish-gold color that, while darker than his normal color, made him look even more ravishing. She took the cloth from his hand and leaned forward over his shoulder to start on his chest, kissing the newly cleaned area behind his ear. "Now you're starting to resemble the man I remember so well." She purred in his ear as she deeply  inhaled along his throat.

                Alistair groaned wantonly. "Keep that up love and I won't finish this bath."

                Elissa giggled but pulled back enough to lick his the shell of his ear. "Then we best hurry before the water gets cold."

                Alistair groaned and yanked the cloth from her fingers rubbing it harshly down his chest and abdomen and then tearing at his legs. Elissa couldn't stop giggling at how quickly he was rubbing himself down. The water was now a dirty cloudy mess.

                "When you're done, Rica arranged a rinse tub as well." She told him indicating a standing bath tub in the corner by the fireplace where a few more kettles of water where strategically placed around the open flame; obviously long trips to the Deep Roads were common and the need for a good rinse after the scrubbing was anticipated.

                Alistair only nodded and stood, Elissa's eyes once more were draw downward as the water flowed along the plains of his well sculpted chest and abs, down pass the V of his hips and down his legs... not that she followed the trail that far down.

                "Elissa, stop looking at me like that, at least until we get the rinsing done." he rasped out, his own desire rekindled at her longing gaze.

                Elissa's eyes snapped up to his almost painful expression, his desire for her at war with the need to be clean before he took her to bed. He didn't want to smudge anymore of the filth from the roads on her than he already had when they had kissed earlier.

                Elissa quickly walked past him and went to get the warm kettles of water. She poured them carefully over him, trying not to waste water by spilling too much on the floor. Once two of the three kettles had been emptied Alistair stepped out and pulled her body against his.

                "You, my love, are wearing entirely too much clothing for this reunion." He said huskily.

                Elissa shivered with deep desire. As she lifted her hands to pull the ties of her shirt open at the sleeves, his hands coved hers and took over. "I want to do this." He moaned, "I've dreamed of removing each layer, one... by... one." With each drawn out word he pulled at the ties holding her shirt closed, sliding his hands up her torso to push the shirt up and over her creamy smooth shoulders.

                 Her breathing was becoming harsher with each moment, "Alistair please, I've wanted this for too long." she begged.

                He took her mouth in a desire fueled kiss while his hand moved to the front of her breeches, untying them and pulling her pants over the her hips. Moaning deeply he pushed both hands down her sides and under the edges of her small clothes and pants before slowly moving his kisses down her throat to her breasts as he pushed the pants down her thighs. Being so much taller had its advantages as he allowed himself to slowly fall to his knees and was able to keep his lips attached to the nipple of her right breast.

                Elissa's head fell back as he nibbled and suckled softly. He was a quick study, he had bitten too hard last time,  and his every move was like a perfectly choreographed dance. His hands slid down to her ankles and he pulled free each foot; sliding his hands back up her body, he switched nipples. Needing a little friction himself he let his cock graze her leg. Her next groan made him move his hips slightly forward, letting the smooth skin on her leg glide along his cock. He released his own groan. "Alistair please." She moaned deeply.

                He released her breast and looked up at her. The look of pure want and need had him surging to his feet, lifting her as he rose. Cradled in his arms she felt the rough calluses on his hands on her thigh and back, and the heat radiating from his body made her feel hot in all the right places. "Tell me what you want Elissa, I need to hear it." He asked her, his voice so deep and husky that she felt it vibrate from his chest right through her whole body, traveling along every nerve.

                "Please, Alistair..." She panted, she felt like she'd been the one running for miles, "I want you... I love you." She told him as he crossed the room. He laid her gently on the bed and crawled over her.

                "You are so beautiful. The only one I truly treasure." he whispered. Staring into her eyes he let his body come in full contact with hers and it felt like soft silk against him. He groaned and pressed his body down on hers giving in to the need to kiss her.

                Elissa weaved her fingers in his hair, which was longer than normal, and pulled him more deeply into their kiss, thrusting her tongue in his mouth. It surprised him and for a moment her froze before he swept hers with his own, tasting her sweetened breath and suckling ever so lightly on it. He could almost taste the rush of desire, but there was no doubt she was turned on enough for more daring caresses, he could now feel the dampness seeping from the bared curls against his thigh.

                Elissa shifted slightly, getting uncomfortable as Alistair's cock jutted against her hip. She was still astounded that he could get so hard so fast and for so long, and knew he was ready for more when his cock started to dripped onto her skin. She wished she knew how to pleasure him at this point, but he'd asked her not to last time; instead she could feel him bracing to move down her body to kiss every sensitive spot that suddenly seemed to need attention from his seeking tongue and mouth all the way down to her hip. He licked along her hipbone, his stalling was driving Elissa insane with desire.

                "Alistair enough, I can't... I want..." She moaned.

                He smirked, instantly complying. Positioning his face between her legs, he gazed for a few moments at her swollen clit, just barely visible. He flicked  her with his tongue before taking a deep breath and moving in closer to suckle and alternatively lick her from bottom to top.

                Elissa instantly gripped the sheets with both fists.  Alistair had a grip on both of her hips; with the intense pleasure racing through her limbs and centering in her stomach, there was no way she could arch her back. With each pass of his tongue Elissa felt more and more pressure and pleasure building. Every moan he pulled from her made Alistair feel more confident that he could make her come more than once this time, he wanted her to feel as good as he had last time, and he was ready to pull out all the tricks he'd be told to try.

                When her moans became slightly higher pitched he took one hand off her hips and laid it across her abdomen to hold her down, he stroked her entrance softly with the tips of his fingers before pushing two in slowly. She tried to arch up, crying out even louder, so wet that he easily slide his fingers in all the way.

                "Alis... Al... Oh!" She moaned so loud Alistair felt proud of himself. He slowly started to withdrawal his fingers and pushed forward again, concentrating hard on matching the rhythm of the lapping of his tongue. He could feel her tightening around his fingers, and Elissa was dripping so much that the palm of his hand was beginning to feel wet.  A few thrust later she cried out her release and he drew back to see her face as she rode out the rest of her orgasm.

                When she stopped shivering he slowly removed his fingers and then licked and sucked them clean. He'd never get tired of the taste, it was something he never bothered to name... it was just Elissa and he loved it. His groan as he licked the last of it off his fingers had her lifting her head from where she'd let it fall back. She had a look of complete bliss on her face as she beckoned him to climb up beside her on the bed.

                With a confidence he'd not felt before Alistair climbed up her body, dragging his tongue and teeth over her very sensitive body, allowing his cock to rub against her leg as he slowly slid along her lithe frame. He stopped briefly to nip at her breasts which caused her to shiver deviously as he proceeded and kissed up her neck to her ear.

                "You beckoned, my Queen?" He whispered, his tone heavy with lust.

                His voice was warm honey running all over her. Her vision was still clouded with little sparks as she tried to catch her breath. "Roll on your back love." she ordered breathlessly.

                Alistair chuckled in her ear, sending shivers down her back. "As you wish."

                It took Elissa a moment to gather her wits enough to move but when she did she could see just how hard he was, knowing he had to be hurting slightly at this point.  Not wanting to tease him after what he had already done for her, she reached down to run her fingers over her sex quickly to get her hand wet before she wrapped it around his cock. Still amazed by the soft skin over the hard muscles inside, Alistair cried out harshly as she slide her fingers around his cock, soft and wet, but firm. Her fingers and thumb didn't quite reach each other, but he really didn't care as she began to move her hand up and down over him.

                "Is this right?" She asked shyly. She hadn't had a chance to touch him much last time.

                Alistair groaned and panted. "Oh yes... not.. going.. to.." He was far too gone to hold out much at this point. He let his hand guide over hers and showed her how fast and hard to grip. The thrill of having her hand inside his while it glided over him was a wicked pleasure that added a level of lust. He was caught by surprise by how quickly he came, and how hard, and how far it traveled, covering Elissa's chest.

                Elissa yelped and jerked back in surprise, and he threw his head back and laughed quietly, euphorically. "Sorry, I should have warned you."

                Elissa looked down at the pearly substance on her chest. Rica had told her some things to try with her mouth and what to expect if she did, but that was for a later time. Being curious as to what it would taste like, she let her fingers trail through the sticky, thick streams and then brought the semen to her lips. Her tongue darted out to lick as Alistair watched in fascination, as her tongue touched it he felt his cock start to stir again. Elissa wasn't sure what to make of the taste, it wasn't what she'd been told to expect. Deciding it didn't matter, she let her hand fall down as she turned her eyes towards his face, but not before she noticed his cock once more rising.

                "Already?" She asked, surprised at his recovery time.

                Alistair blushed, the blood flushing his skin down to his chest. Elissa bit her lip and moaned. She always wondered how far down his blush could go. "Sometimes it doesn't soften, but it still takes nearly half an hour for me to come again." He whispered.

                "Half an hour?" she echoed. Thoughts of how he'd know that played with her imagination, making her gasp. "Really?"

                He nodded. "I'm pretty sure I can wear out your Kitten in the amount of time it will take to be satisfied with you on a bad day." He said boldly.

                Elissa burst out laughing. "My what?"

                Alistair blushed a deeper red but mumbled "What else am I suppose to call it?" He asked her. "Some of the things the other Trainees or Wardens used were really vulgar." He told her.

                "Where did you come up with Kitten?" She giggled.

                He scrunched up his nose with distaste. "I thought it sounded much better than..." He stopped before sighing and pulled her down so she was laying down beside him. "I can't say some of this while looking at you. Not yet." He explained.

                Elissa giggled harder. "It's ok Alistair, I'm sure I've heard the terms from men in the barracks." She reminded him.

                "Yeah, but you haven't been subjected to Oghren for two months either. Maker, that dwarf is vile." Alistair shuddered.

                "So tell me these terms of yours that are too vile for my delicate ears." She teased.

                He chuckled. "Maker! I can't believe we are talking about this, but ok. There is... pussy which is where I got the idea for kitten." he whispered, his tone betraying how embarrassed he was.

                "That one I kinda figured." She said, encouraging him to continue.

                "I really don't want to do this..." Alistair pleaded.

                Something in his tone suggested she was pushing him a little far for the night so she stopped teasing him this way. "So don't." She whispered back, "Never do anything you don't want to do with me Alistair. I won't fault you for it." She leaned up on her elbow so she could see his face.

                The relief that washed over his face made her feel a little guilty. "Thank you my love." He said tenderly as he lifted her hand and gave it a kiss, then he licked between her fingers. There was a flash of lust that rushed from her fingers through her torso straight to her 'Kitten' as Alistair had dubbed it.

                Her moan caught them both by surprise by Alistair quickly move to the next joint and licked, causing another moan. "Damn it Alistair... how am I suppose to concentrate when you do that?"

                "You don't." He answered. He placed his hands on her hips and lifted her over his waist.

                She moaned as he rubbed his fingers against her clit once more. "It's my turn." she moaned louder.

                He lowered her down so that his cock was rubbing along her folds. "I'm not arguing that my love." He said with a smirk. "I'm just helping you."

                Elissa moaned and slid herself along his length, getting him wet and stimulating herself; she wasn't as sensitive as she had been a few minutes before so the sensation was good, but not too good. Alistair was moaning louder than earlier as he anticipated sliding deep within her. She'd insisted on this position last time because she could control how deep he could go and how fast, at least in theory. That had been blown when he'd instinctively had raised his hips up while pulling hers down... this time he placed his hands on her thighs ready to help her if she needed it.

                She reached down and grabbed him firmly as she guided the head of his cock inside of her. Just like last time, she could feel herself stretching to accommodate him, only this time it was painless. She reveled in the feeling of raw emotional connection and lusty desire of having him inside and let her head fall back, her long unbound hair touching Alistair's thighs. She took a long moment, slowly lowering herself until their bodies met.

                They were both panting hard but staring at each other. "No pain?" He asked her desperate to move, but needing that reassurance.

                "No." She moaned. That was all Alistair needed to hear, He grabbed her hips and flipped her over onto her back.

                "Then let me make love to you, my Queen." He whispered intensely. She could only moan as he began to move with long slow thrusts. He kept his hands on the bed near her sides at first, but the need to touch her, move deeper had him lifting her legs around his waist and then moving one arm under her back. The angle was just right for him to slide even deeper within her.

                No fantasy could have compared to this moment, loving her like this with no concern for fear of hurting her. It was even better than the first time. Each thrust was more intense, more emotional, and  perfect.

                He closed his eyes to just let the pleasure roam through his body as he moved a little faster and a little harder. Her moans and cries were growing louder, making it hard for him to concentrate on her needs.

                Elissa was losing herself to the sensations and the feeling of Alistair's weight on her body which was adding to her experience. She felt surrounded by him, inside and out, everything narrowed down to this moment... only them and what they were doing together.

                Elissa's first orgasm wasn't a surprise to Alistair, he had felt the tightening of her walls around his cock the same way they had tightened around his fingers earlier, but instead of stopping like he had earlier he couldn't stop now, his own need and lust prompting him to thrust even harder. Elissa was almost purring with delight as she could feel the pleasure start to rise again.

                Alistair could hear her mumbling not to stop, that it felt so good, and he was thankful for it. He didn't want to stop... ever... but he could feel his own pleasure about to peak. He was trying to make sure she finished again first. Lifting his arm out from under her back, he moved his hand to her clit, allowing his eager thrusts to dictate the pressure, so he wouldn't press to hard. Elissa began to squirm beneath him, her fingers grabbing his shoulders to pull him closer.

                Her second orgasm caught him by surprise, suddenly and without warning, he had been holding back for so long, he wasn't ready; it took an extra few minutes before he released inside her.

                As he collapsed on top of her, Elissa pulled him tighter to herself, loving the feel of his motionless weight upon her. The last few moments had been intense and she was basking in the feeling of his cock going soft inside her.

                When he caught his breath he lifted himself up onto his hands. "That was a wonderful reunion, my love."

                She sighed contently. "It was certainly better than I imagined." She said smiling up at him.

                "I love you so much Elissa." He told her with a beautiful smile on his face.

                "And I you, forever." She promised.

 

                It was nearly three hours before the Grey Warden party had fully cleaned up and eaten enough to be full. Bhelen and his advisors along with Elissa, Zevran and Rica were waiting to hear their story.

                "I'll cut to the chase." Solona yawned. "I'll give you the short version tonight so you can plan and the details tomorrow. Is that all right with all of you?"

                Bhelen could see how tired they were and agreed. "You've more than earned it Warden-Commander."

                She rubbed her eyes trying to focus, Maker she was tired! "Ok so we finally did find Branka. She had made a deal with the Darkspawn and gave them her house in return for unlimited amounts of darkspawn to throw against the traps protecting the Anvil of the Void."

                "It still exists?" Bhelen's astonished but calculating face was all the assurance Solona needed that they had done the right thing.

                "No."  She stated flatly. Bhelen deflated but still he waved for her to continue. "She trapped us in the gauntlet and we had to run it. We got through and came face-to-face with the Paragon Caridin."

                One of the advisors scoffed. "That's impossible Caridin has been dead since Ancient times."

                Solona sighed. "I didn't say he was flesh and blood, he was in the body of a metal golem. That's how the Anvil worked, it took the soul of a dwarf and placed it into the stone or metal body."

                They all turned to look at Shale. "Yes, I was once a Dwarf. Shale of house Cadash."

                Solona smirked at their dumbfounded expressions. "And the only woman volunteer."

                "Yes... we mustn't forget that part." Shale said.

                "Caridin made us a deal, we destroy the Anvil and he'd support our choice of King. Branka made us a counter-offer, she' support us but she also wanted the golem army, which meant feeding her as many dwarves as she could create bodies and control rods for. We of course backed Caridin."

                "What? Why?" Were the cries from the advisors, Bhelen for his part kept silent but his eyes never left Solona. She in return stared him down, completely convinced she'd done the right thing.

                "Because he wasn't bat-shit crazy enough to turn his house into a darkspawn factory for power she wasn't going to share." Solona said emphatically.

                She pulled out the crown made by Caridin and placed it down on the table. The helmet shaped crown was encrusted with huge rubies and was a masterfully crafted work of art. The work was obviously Dwarven in design with the shape of the gems and the style of the crown. "We will present this to you at the Assembly your highness." She said. "Inside the words should help to prove our assertions it was made by Caridin. We also have the tracings of the monuments of the Golems he made and the monument from Cadash Thaig."

                The Advisors nearly fell over each other to inspect the inscription. After only a few moments they nodded their assessment. "It is his mark and this is consistent with the times and designs of his work."

                "Is that enough for tonight?" Solona asked, yawning once more.

                "Yes." Bhelen said softly. "Thank you Wardens." He paused and smiled at them all. "By the way, Happy Satinalia Wardens."

                The group looked at each other in surprise. They hadn't realized so much time had gone by while they were in the Deep Roads. "Thank you Your Highness." He gave them a final nod, knowing they were exhausted.

                Solona took that as a dismissal and left the room heading for her bed. The others followed quickly, just as eager to sleep in a real bed as she was.

 

                It was very late the next morning before Solona managed to drag herself out of the bed. After laying on bedrolls and stone for two months she had felt like she was sleeping on a cloud. She had a list of things she wanted to get done before the Assembly met that afternoon. She'd noticed a Warden Cloak in her room as she was dressing. The heraldry on the back was the same as the one Duncan had given to Elissa. She sadly took the cloak and placed it around her shoulders.

                While she had official been the Warden Commander in the Deep Roads it hadn't felt like a big deal until they had seen the Archdemon. The size of the Horde, the Dragon in real life instead of dreams, and of course coming face-to-face with a broodmother had brought home just how big a deal this whole Commander thing was. She knew Alistair, Rory and Elissa would all stand behind her, making sure she didn't fall the same way everyone was behind Elissa, making sure she didn't fall.

                She also knew she could depend on the others to a lesser degree. it wasn't that they were any less committed. Wynne especially had risked her life to come along on their errand to the end of the Deep Roads. Cara was tied to her fate too, but the others were not. Knowing what becomes of Grey Wardens she was going to give Zevran a pass on becoming one of them.  She would never recruit someone against their will, she decided. She couldn't accept the thought of sentencing someone to becoming one of them. As long as the person choose to become a Warden she would accept them, but she wouldn't take someone like Sophia Dryden, someone sentenced to be one by a judgment of someone else, even Elissa. She would allow them to be given a choice, but the choice had to be theirs. That she could live with.

                She picked up the tracings of the Golem monuments and went in search of Shale to go to the Shaperite to drop off the tracings. She imagined the Shaper would want to talk at length with Shale about what she remembered since they were at Cadash Thaig.

                The Shaper had been very happy and upset to learn that so much had been lost or not recorded in the memories. The large pile of sovereigns made the time to take the tracings very lucrative. It had been decided to hold onto the loot they found in the Deep Roads until they were on the surface after what had happened to Bodahn.

                She got back to the palace in time to meet with Elissa and Alistair. The three of them presented the crown to thunderous applause. Bhelen gladly accepted and the Assembly finally crowned him King. As expected his first motion was to have Harrowmont executed. His second was to back the Grey Wardens and the Teyrnessa and Heir to the Crown of Ferelden in their fight against the Blight. The Third was to pledge his support of the Ancient treaty for military support against the Blight. The first troops would be sent out shortly to help train the humans and elves when they joined them.

                The party was glad to breath fresh air once more as they passed through the doors to the surface, except for Oghren and Dagna, they were a little afraid of falling into the sky.

 


	11. Chapter 11

                "For the last time Dagna! No I can't tell you what it will be like living in the Tower because you won't be a fucking prisoner, you'll be allowed to leave whenever you want!" Solona snapped. She stopped and glared at the little dwarf girl. "Will you please just give it a rest." Adele let out a surprised bark and nudged Solona to get her to calm down.

Solona winced at how cold the dog’s noses were. They had been chasing snowballs earlier. While they had been underground the snow had fallen over Ferelden. Harvestmere had just begun when they'd entered Orzammar, now two months later they'd missed all of the month of Firstfall and the annum of Satinalia by a month, it was now the beginning of Haring.

                Dagna quickly closed her mouth, but her eyes were wide with worry. Solona didn't care anymore. She'd been patient, answering questions about the tower even though she didn't like thinking about it. She'd answered every question she could think of about magic, and some she didn't know the answers to, and still the questions had kept coming. To be fair Wynne had been pestered as much as she had, but there was a limit on how much Solona could take. She'd reached her limit.

                The young dwarf let herself slip further back. Wynne placed her arm around the young girl to help steady her on the snowy ground and to make her feel better. They moved away from Solona and began to talk quietly. Elissa had been pulled from her happy bubble of walking hand-in-hand with Alistair enjoying the sparkling white scenery when Solona began yelling at Dagna. She pulled her hand from him and nodded towards Rory. Alistair understood her meaning and caught up with him. She admired how gracefully he moved over the slippery ground as if it wasn't even there. He was surprisingly light on his feet when he chose to be.

                "What's on your mind?" Elissa asked as she and Flynn joined Solona and Adele. They hadn't had a lot of time to catch-up since the Deep Roads. The finalizing of Bhelen's support, the presenting of the Grey Warden Treaties, and the presenting of the Legion's Rights to the Noble house took most of Elissa's spare time, and Solona and the others had earned their downtime, not that Solona had much since she had delivered the tracings to the Shaperite and she was catching up on her sleep. The Shaper had question after question he wanted to ask, so Solona and Shale had spent hours locked in their meetings with the scholars.

                Solona glared at her. "Why does there have to be something wrong? I was just fed up with her constant questions about the damned Tower." She snarled, as she kicked the snow in front of her out of the way rather than walk through it.

                "Something she asked about bothered you." Elissa pushed trying not to roll her eyes at her childish behavior. Sometimes it was easy to see how very young Solona was, how young they all were.

                Solona glared straight ahead. "I told you about that enchanter I was semi-friends with, the other Spirit Healer."

                Elissa thought hard. "Anders, yeah, I remember you mentioning him because of the weird nickname he has. And I had a passing thought that he'd possibly a good warden."

                "I forgot he was locked up in the Tower when we cleared it." Solona said sadly.

                Elissa stared at her in confusion. "I don't recall any cells. Where are they?"

                "In the basement." She whispered with tears in her eyes. "We didn't check the basement."

                Elissa's hand covered her mouth in surprised. "Oh Sole!"

                She just shook her head. "I should have remembered! I was in there the day..." She suddenly caught her breath, she ran though the memories she had of that day. "That son-of-a-bitch!" And she stopped walking. Both dogs stopped with her, Adele began to growled as she looked for what had upset her master.

                Elissa turned to her. "What is it?"

                "He wasn't there!" Solona gasped as her memory recalled the cell that had looked lived in but no one had been there! She remembered the candles had been melted down, as if someone had used it recently, but the cell had been empty!

                "What? Who wasn't where?" Elissa asked completely confused now as to what she was talking about.

                "Anders!" She yelled. "He wasn't in his cell the day Jowan and I broke into the cellar to get his phylactery." She reached out to pet Adele to let her know she was ok, even though she was far from it. Wynne had been her mentor as a Spirit Healer. She'd learned more about healing from Anders little bits of advice and his style of healing was much closer to her own than Wynne's. Wynne's method was all about controlling the magic into formed lines and spell effect that was predetermined. Anders had taught her to let the magic tell her what the body needed. Her own method was a mix of both, she directed the magic but she allowed it to flow into the areas of damage.

                "Of course not." Wynne said quietly, she'd heard their conversation as she was about to walk by. "Greagoir knew about the break-in and had the Templars move him for the day." Solona was caught by surprise by Wynne's voice behind her and jumped. "I was with him when he was moved so he wouldn't worry about being removed from his cell and fight back."

                Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "Greagoir knew because I told Irving what we were going to do, but Greagoir was still going to send me to Aeonar, wasn't he?"

                Wynne knew she was going to lose the battle here so she didn't even try to defend Greagoir's actions. "I don't know. I do know Anders was fine and none of the blood mages made it to the cellar."

                Solona stared at her. Elissa place a hand on Wynne's arm. "How do you know?"

                Wynne gave her a patient and caring look. "He will always be my student and I care for all my student regardless of if I approve of their actions or not... I had Petra check on him before you all arrived." She gave Solona a pat on the back. "Don't trouble yourself about Anders, the scamp was reading his book and petting the Tower mouser when she saw him." She told her with a hint of humor and affection in her voice. While she disapproved of a lot of things about Anders, he did have his charms and a wicked sense of humor that even Wynne was not immune to.

                "What of the Templar guards?" She asked.

                Wynne shrugged. "Petra didn't say anything about them, so I assumed they were fine too. I never went down there once Petra said it was clear. I was too busy maintaining the barrier."

                Solona finally accepted her explanation and kept walking. Elissa thanked Wynne then ran a few feet to catch up to Solona. "Was that all that was bothering you?"

                "No, it's just everything at once falling on me now that we are back up here." She sighed and let her shoulders fall forward. "It was easier without the expectation of the nation on me to save them."

                "Tell me about it." Elissa said dryly.

                Solona snorted. "At least you were trained to deal with some of this. Me, I honestly never expected to leave the Tower for more than a few weeks at a time." She looked around at the snow. She'd been in snow before of course. but it had been years. She'd forgotten how cold it was. The cold wasn't helping her mood to improve.  

                Elissa sighed. "I'm sorry we are staging for everything within sight of the Tower. I never thought about how seeing your former prison was going to affect you."

                Solona shrugged. "It's a central point for Ferelden at this point and that's not the problem."

                Elissa chuckled. "You've been paying attention to Rory's strategy plans."

                Solona shot her a half-smile. "Kind of hard not to since he's usually talking to me when he talks about that stuff."

                Elissa shot her a concerned look. "We'll just get the horses and leave as soon as possible."

                Solona waved her off. "I'm not so fragile I can't put up with being near the Tower." Elissa wisely left it alone. They walked a good five minutes in silence before Solona growled. "The other thing that's bothering me is a grimoire I found in Irving's office. "She said quietly. "It's one of Flemeth's early tomes."

                Elissa stumbled in surprise but managed to stay on her feet. "You have Flemeth's grimoire? Does Morrigan know?"

                Solona shook her head. "No, if she knew what was in it she would be looking for a way to either kill her or hide from her for the rest of her life."

                "Is it even possible to kill someone as old and powerful as Flemeth?" Elissa wondered outload.

                Solona shook her head. "I doubt it. We could try and kill her. Honestly, I wouldn't have put it past her. After reading this, I’ll bet that she has some kind of back-up plan. That's what this tome is all about, back-up plans in case the body fails."

                Elissa choked. "A back-up plan to avoid death?"

                "If she is powerful enough to take a new host every fifty or so years, I'm sure she has a back-up in case the possession doesn't take." Solona explained.

                "Possession?" Elissa gasped. "Like a demon?"

                Solona shook her head grimly. "Those stories about Flemeth and her daughters..."

                "Yeah..."

                "They aren't stories." She said quietly, her face showed how deeply concerned she was.

                Elissa gasped in horror. "She takes possession of her daughter's bodies!"

                Solona nodded. "And Morrigan doesn't seem to have any sisters that I saw when we were at their home in the Wilds."

                "Oh Maker!"

                Solona stared off in the distance. It was hard to not feel sorry for the witch. The grimoire had gone on to state that the host worked best if the body was a powerful witch first before Flemeth took possession. Her magic didn't take as long to regenerate and the possession ran smoother overall the more powerful the host. Letting Morrigan leave wasn't just to further whatever agenda they both had, it was also a chance to improve Flemeth's chances at making Morrigan more powerful so her new body would be ready for her.

 

                It took little more than a week to get to Kinloch Hold Docks. Elissa was very happy to see the Spoiled Princess, even more so to see Bodahn was here along with the other party members. Elissa had managed to send two messages to Bodahn to let him know how long they would be. Since they were all here waiting he seemed to have gotten those messages.

                Elissa made Dagna stay for at least one night and introduced her to Sandal. Dagna was amazed by the work he could do. So while she was busy with him, Elissa called the rest of the party and Bodahn up to the largest room the inn had for a meeting while the two dogs bedded down in the stable to 'guard' the horses.

                The Orzammar party caught the rest of the group up on the happenings in Orzammar and the Deep Roads. Most of the stories were news to Elissa and Zevran too. Bodahn began with the rumors and news he had collected for Elissa on the surface.

                "The first bit of news I have for you is the news of the Banns." Elissa waited with baited breath. "All the southern landowning Banns and the ones in the west, especially those who used to be loyal to Highever are all rebelling against Loghain and Howe."

                "That's good, but why all Highever's banns?" Elissa asked.

                Bodahn looked extremely uncomfortable and cleared his throat several times. "Because Loghain made Howe the Teyrn of Highever for exposing your family’s conspiracy to put Ferelden back under Orlais rule."

                Two months ago Elissa would have been screaming in anger at such an outrageous lie. She was still angry, but already knowing all her family allies were rejecting Loghain and Howe made her very happy. She laughed. "And the Banns and Arls know better." She continued to laugh.

                "What's so funny?" Alistair asked.

                Rory was now laughing too. He knew his father would be one of the rebelling lords. It was Leliana who answered Alistair’s question.

"The way the Landsmeet work in Ferelden is the Banns each have a vote as does a Teyrn, but a Teyrn also gets additional votes from the lords allied to him, along with the proxy vote for those who cannot attend a Landsmeet for whatever reason. Highever's the most powerful Teyrn not because it's oldest, but because so many Banns, Arls and landowners were collected under the Teyrn of Highever banner. Without them Highever is an empty castle and a money drain on Howe. He still needs to provide for Highever City and without the Banns he'll need to buy food and pay his soldiers from his own pockets."

                Elissa laughed harder. "Especially since I took the Highever treasury with me when I left."

                Rory shivered. "He was screaming about that. I remember him screaming about finding you because you had to know where it was hidden. He thought it was still in the castle."

Bodahn relaxed after that. Howe being made Teyrn was the worst of the news he had, and if Elissa wasn't going to get angry about it then perhaps he wouldn't be bearing to as much bad news as he originally thought. "The darkspawn raids have been moving unchecked in the south eastern areas near Southron Hills and Gwaren, and in the west of Ostagar into the Hinterlands but not coming close to Redcliffe, the Arls knight still maintained a perimeter around the castle and town. Loghain has all but abandon them, he's using his troops to quell the rebelling lords and to look for you."

                "Do you think it's safe to go to Redcliffe now?" Alistair asked.

                Bodahn nodded. "Yes, Serah. Loghain has pulled his men back towards Highever, Amaranthine, and Denerim."

                Elissa nodded. "The northern port cities. Makes sense."

                Rory agreed. "Port cities are impossible to lay siege to unless you have a blockade of ships and last I checked the darkspawn don't sail."

                "But they do have an Archdemon who can blow the ships out of the water." Elissa replied. "But only one city at a time."

                "The mages are coming out in small groups to learn camp life. Their encampment is just over those hills in the east." Bodahn also told them. "Each group had a small Templar guard, and it seems to be going well."

                "Have you spoken to any of them?" Solona asked.

                "Yes, Commander." Bodahn said respectfully. They had all been made aware of the change in leadership earlier.

                "Anything else we should know?" Elissa asked Bodahn.

                "The Dryden family settled in very well." He told them. "The Keeps lower levels are quite homey now. And Levi's brother is a master at weapons Serah." He said in slight awe.

                "He made a what you asked for, Your Grace. He also completed several sets of each type of Warden Armor. I have enough for all, even Sten." He said proudly. "My boy added some extra protection and enchantments to the armor and weapons based on what you asked for before."

                "How's Cara adjusting?" She asked.

                Bodahn looked uncomfortable for a second. "She is liking the arrangement I think." Elissa would have to ask why the Dwarf was blushing later. "She has the men collecting ore for the weapons and armor, she's been growing her planets in the other parts of the Peak. And she learned to make the Warden Potion and sent five more vials."

                "Where did she get the darkspawn blood?" Solona asked confused. "Surely the darkspawn aren't that far north."

                Sten spoke up for the first time. "We have been collecting it for them as we travel back and forth between the traders."

                "We were attacked a few times, and never by many. Just small raiding groups." Leliana explained.

                "Good." Elissa smiled. "I guess that means tomorrow we head to Redcliffe finally."

 

                Elissa had finally managed to get to her room cleared of everyone but Alistair. She turned expecting him to be happy they were finally alone, but instead he looked pained and wouldn't look at her. She experienced a wave a dread. "Is something wrong?"

                He winced and still didn't look at her. "I really should tell you about my life at Redcliffe before we get there." He said quietly. His voice was so low it was almost a whisper. She relaxed and moved to sit next to him. She'd been worried he was going to decide to walk away from her. This she could handle.

                "I know you worked in the stables." She said softly, placing her hand on his shoulders, rubbing it in a soothing manner.

                He chuckled dryly, it had a bitter edge to it that she was unaccustomed to hearing from him. "I lived in the stables Elissa, from the time I was seven until I entered the Chantry."

                Elissa felt that dread coming back. "When you say living in the stables, you mean in the groomer's apartments right?" Her rubbing got a little rougher, but Alistair didn't mind, it was reassuring to him when she showed emotion instead of her emotionless mask.

                Alistair snorted and shook his head. "No... I meant in the loft."

                The blood drained from her face. She tried to picture it, but her mind wouldn't go there. Instead she remembered a comment he'd made in the Tower. She thought he had been just trying to lighten things at the time, but with this new information she felt growing horror and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, hiding her face and her dismay from his eyes. "The dogs?"

                He slouched further inward on himself, pulling her closer into his chest. "Sometimes it was too cold to stay there, and when we travelled to Denerim I had to stay out of sight of any of the other nobles, so I would stay in the kennels rather than with the horses." He still wouldn't look at her.

                Elissa's hands slid from his shoulders down onto the bed, but she left her forehead on his chest. She could easily picture a boy curled up to the dogs. She'd seen that at Highever, usually just after the pups were born. One of the squires would be assigned Kennel duty as punishment, but it was only ever a few days at most. Even she'd had a few of her own nights as puppy watcher for her transgressions over the years, but it was never permanent!

                The cold emotions that had made her feel slightly numb up to this point was beginning to fill with white hot anger. "Where were you before that?" She asked through clenched teeth.

                "In the castle proper with the elfin servants." He admitted quietly.

                Elissa paused for a long moment. In all the times she'd been to Redcliffe, which would have been rarely she could not recall ever seeing any elfin servants. "Why were you moved to the stables?"

                Alistair shrugged. "Isolde got rid of the Elves." He said flatly.

                Elissa took several deep breathes and raised her head to stare into his eyes before she got up and walked to the wall. "Just when I thought I couldn't hate that wicked bitch any more than I did." She growled. She slammed her fist into the wall, causing the plaster to crack and pain to shoot up her arm. Under the plaster the wall had been made of stone.

                Alistair was instantly up and taking her hand to look at it. Ever with a simple look it was easy to see Elissa had broken her fingers and wrist with the blow. "Whoa," he said softly, "It ok."

                Elissa's eyes filled with tears and with a flash of hurt and anger, both on his behalf. "No, it's not Alistair. What she did was criminal. How could she do that? How could Eamon allow her to do it?"

                He once more shrugged and wouldn't look at her. "Everyone thought I was Eamon's bastard."

                Elissa went still. Had Rory been there he would have been the first to back away slowly and stay out of striking distance. While her temper was back to normal, one thing sure to make Elissa completely loose it was hurting someone she cared for. Hurting someone she loved was jokingly referred to as suicidal within the barracks. In this case it could have been true if Isolde had been within the Inn. "And that justifies throwing a child out into an unheated stable in the coldest country on Thedas, does it?"

                Alistair finally looked at her and realized she wasn't mad at him for hiding this from her. She was angry at his treatment. He was in awe of how beautiful and angry she was. In all his time growing up only Teagan, and rarely Eamon himself had said anything about Alistair's treatment. Isolde was adamant that he would not live in her home. He understood why Eamon wasn't going to choose a boy who was not his own over his wife. Sending him to the Chantry when Isolde finally became pregnant was the best kindness Eamon could have done him. While he'd been beyond angry at the time it had been for the best.

                "No, I guess it doesn't." He said quietly. "But it was better than staying in the castle and being beaten for whatever insult she would take with me every time she saw me."

                "She had you beaten?" She hadn't been this angry with the exception of the death of her family since Solona had been whipped by a new transferred Templar several years ago.

                "Never more than a few hits, but yes. She hated me." He admitted sadly.

                She turned to him and held him in a death grip. "Please don't tell me anymore right now." She begged him, her voice shaking with unshed tears. "I will be unable to sleep as it is. All I'll be able to do is imagining ways to get back at her for everything she has done to you."

                He nodded softly, but held her just as tightly and was shaking with unspent adrenaline from the fear he'd felt in admitting his past to her. "I'm sorry... I wanted to tell you before we got there and you found out some other way."

                She took several deep breaths and finally she looked up into his concerned eyes. "I am not angry with you in any way Alistair." His shoulders instantly relaxed their rigid stance as he calmed. He's needed to hear her say the words.

                "I was worried it would be a step too far for you to overlook." He whispered gratefully and he pulled her tight against him again. He'd been truly concerned that having been raised in a barn, literally, would be enough to make her back away from him. He knew it would not endear him to the other nobles when they found out, and too many people knew about his treatment as a child in Redcliffe for it not to come out at some point.

                "Never Alistair." She vowed and she kissed him quickly but passionately. "I told you, only you can take yourself away from me."

                He held her tightly for a long moment before he let her go enough to look down at her face and kiss her softly. "Then we never have to fear being apart. I will never walk away from you Elissa."

                "I don't know that I'll be able to overlook this when we see her." She admitted to him.

                He chuckled humorlessly. "Honestly it would hurt her more to ignore her as unimportant." He told her. Elissa knew that was true, her mother had dismissed her once at an affair, an actual 'cut' and Isolde had looked like she was going to cry. She steeled herself trying to regain her composure. Hurting her family was one way to get Elissa's bloodlust flowing and Alistair was family now, the most important one she had.

                " I have gifts for both you and Sole." She motioned to the chest. "Inside is a sword for you and two daggers for her."

                Alistair pulled the long sword, Starfang, from the chest, beside it was two matching daggers. The sword was a work of art, and the runes on it made it an extremely deadly weapon against anything living and especially darkspawn with its grandmaster level runes.

                "It's..." He really couldn't find the words to describe how the sword felt in his hand.

                Elissa nodded. "I felt the same when Bodahn showed me while trying to get everyone out earlier. It's made from the star metal we found."

                "It's beautiful." He finally said. "It's truly amazing." He looked down at her lovingly until his attention was drawn to her blackening hand. "Let's get this looked at shall we."

                Elissa swallowed her anger for now as the pain from her hand suddenly took center stage and she gratefully followed him to Solona's room to allow her to heal the damage.

 

                Solona never got an explanation on why Elissa's hand was so damaged. She was having issues walking or riding without some light over all healing to her over-used muscles still days later. Solona had a very good idea why since she and everyone else had heard Elissa and Alistair trying to be quiet in their tent over the past several nights. Rory had moved his tent as far from Elissa's as possible and even Flynn and Adele were hanging out in front of her tent instead of Elissa and Alistair's.

 

Sitting back in her saddle she could see things with Alistair had reached some major turning point. They were both doing little things that screamed lovers to anyone paying the slightest bit of attention. It was more than the simple looks of adoration that was quickly souring Solona's mood when she looked on them long enough. They had started talking without words. Simple gestures that normally wouldn't mean anything or a look with a certain twist of the head to convey a meaning from one to the other, and they now had inside jokes; like the word Kitten, it obviously had some meaning because Alistair blushed and Elissa giggled every time she said it.

                Solona knew her temper was being influenced by the taint, and by the revelations she was struggling with since they had found Hespith in the Deep Roads. Her dreams weren't helping her thought processes either. It was always the same. The Archdemon calling to her, she'd respond, only to be turned into one of the broodmothers along with all the woman in the party. She clenched her fist and tried to block out the image.

                Alistair felt the uncontrolled burst of fade behind him. He quickly spun his horse to face Solona who had her eyes closed but her fists were bright with fire magic. Her horse was beginning to become aware of the burning smell of the leather from the reins in her hand. Not wanting to hurt her he called on a cleansing aura to remove the magic from her hands.

                Elissa had turned her horse half a second after Alistair did. She too had felt the magic, unlike when she'd been around Solona casting since she'd started her templar skill training she could feel a wild tang to the magic, like lyrium with a hint of hot peppers and icy cold mint stinging her throat. While not instinctive like Alistair she too pulled up the templar skills she was learning and released a burst.

                Together the two had the intended effect, just a little stronger than Alistair had intended. Elissa's burst wouldn't have done more than caused the flames to flicker out, only to be reignited a moment later. Alistair's had the effect of removing the fade effect from not only her hands but also disrupt Solona's ability to access the Fade for a few moments. Combined the extra shot had caused Solona's body to react and the area of effect to expand further than just Solona herself. Her mount raised up when she jerked her body backwards in response to being hit by the auras. It was only because the group was surrounded that the horse was forced to stay where it was. Raising up again, pawing at the air trying the get the others to clear a path to run. Zevran being the most agile of the group had leap forward while still in his saddle and grabbed the bridle while keeping his own mare from dancing too much while he tried to calm Solona's mare. Because she hadn't really been frightened, just startled, the horse stopped prancing around after a few moments.

                How Solona managed to stay in her seat as long as she did was something she would never understand. She'd instinctively hunched forward when the horse reared up. When she had her arms had locked around the saddle horn and gotten caught between the horse's powerful neck and the saddle when she reared up. Which left Solona clutching to the sides of the horse with her legs as tightly as she could, but it wasn't enough and she ended up on the ground just as Zevran was getting her to stop rearing.

                "Oh! I am so sorry Sole I didn't mean to overpower it." Elissa was babbling.

                Solona just glared at both of them. "What the hell was that for?" Alistair motioned to Zevran who held up the burned reins. Solona's eyes traveled to the burnt leather and then winced.

                "Your hands were on fire and it seemed like you needed help." Elissa said quietly.

                Solona flushed. She hadn't lost control of her magic since she was ten. "I'm fine now." She said through gritted teeth. She could feel her mana slowly returning. Thankfully clearing aura didn't drain mana from her the way a smite did. Looking around she saw Morrigan flexing her arm and lighting up her mana and Wynne doing something similar. The wave had unexpectedly washed over all three of them.

                "Next time a little warning would be prudent." Morrigan said glaring her rage at being drained at both Elissa and Alistair. From where she sat in her own saddle she could see that the action had been needed, but she would never say so.

                Elissa nodded. "Yes... I am sorry." She apologized once more.

                Rory moved his horse from the front where he'd been scouting slightly ahead to beside Solona. "Why don't you all go ahead. I need to talk to the Commander about something anyway."

                Alistair had a look of concern but kept quiet. This had been something he'd never wanted to do to Solona. Acting a templar to her mage was akin to saying 'hey I don't trust you'. He did trust her, more than anyone except Elissa. "Sole... I'm sorry." He said softly before he turned and lead his horse away.

                Solona didn't say anything as she remounted her horse. Shooing Adele to go on without her, she waited until they were far enough away before she turned to Rory. He too was watching them until he was certain they would not be overheard. "Care to tell me why we're standing here?" She asked him.

                "Your dreams aren't getting any better now that we're out of the Deep Roads. Nor is your temper." He stated simply.

                She shrugged and continued to stare at him. He gave her a small laugh. "Considering you and Elissa are not overly closely related to each other you are awfully alike."             Solona continued to stare at him, not giving away much of what she was thinking.

                 "It's not weakness to ask for help, or receive it Commander." He told her a little more harshly.

                She held his stare for a long moment before she turned away. "My magic defines me Rory. And it's changing with the taint."

                Rory nodded. "I know." She looked at him sharply. "I am experiencing something on a somewhat smaller scale."

                Her curiosity was piqued by his statement. "How so?"

                He took his sword off his back and took several steps back. "All my life I have lived by this." He said swinging the sword back and forth in a pattern Solona had seen all the warriors use as a warm-up movement, then suddenly he swept it into a swing that seemed to hold so much deadly power in it she took a step back. "Now my movements are more deadly, more powerful than I ever dreamed I could do before. I also am able to fight for longer periods of time." He dropped his sword down and put it away. "My power is physical, yours are not." He said simply once more. "If you can't talk to us about what you are experiencing, talk to Wynne."

                "It's not just this." She admitted, feeling suddenly embarrassed by discussing it.

                Rory nodded. "The nightmares."

                She hesitated. The nightmares were part of it, but she wasn't comfortable discussing her non-nightmare dreams with anyone. "They're about the broodmother."

                He slowly moved forward and pulled her into as tight an embrace as their armor allowed, which wasn't much since they were both in full plate. "You never have to fear that. We'll never let it happen." He pulled back enough to look her dead in the eye. "Alistair and I both promised you. It will never happen."

                She nodded, looking down from his intense stare. "I know that, but the Archdemon is so loud sometimes." She winced just thinking about the roaring of the beast.

                He lifted her chin with his fingers gently. "I hear her too, louder since we laid eyes on her." He admitted, looking just as unsettled as she felt.

                "I just want to forget, but I can't." She growled with frustration.

                Rory suddenly dropped her face and stepped back, "We all want to forget Sole. All we can do is keep fighting, and getting these treaties handed out. We only have one more to go, once we are done with Redcliffe, we go to the Elves. Leliana's contact in the Tower said they had settled in the Forest while we were away."

                Solona sighed and rubbed her hands on her arms in a nervous gesture. "Makes sense now that it's late summer there finally. They'll be harvesting the plants unique to the area." She muttered quietly, talking to herself more than Rory.

                "You need to remember this isn't the Circle were you have to keep everyone at arm's length. We are a team." He reminded her gently. He was treating her as he would Elissa when she was in an ill-tempered mood.

                "What do you know of Circle life?" She scoffed looking back towards where the Tower could still be seen against the background of the Lake, even at this distance.

                He raised a brow. "I spent time talking to Wynne during our trip just as you did talking to Shale." He told her. "She explained a great many things about the Circle, and the stupid and unrealistic expectations you are all expected to live with."

                "Like what?" She asked wondering what Wynne would possibly talk to him about.

                "Like being expected to not love or be loved... Did you know she has a son?" He asked her with a tone that sounded almost dispassionate.

                Solona's eyes widened in astonishment. "What? When?"

                Rory looked sad. "He's much older than you. Twenty-eight this year."

                She looked down at herself and suddenly felt like a child for the first time since leaving the Circle. Rory himself was four years older than her, Elissa was three. Still both were doing their jobs so much better than she was. She didn't feel worthy of being Commander. The Dwarf had been right she was too damn young. "I shouldn't be Commander. You or Alistair should be."

                Rory looked confused. "How did..." He seemed frustrated for the first time since they began talking, he couldn't follow her thought processes. "You need to learn to ask for help. That's all I was trying to tell you... Otherwise you are doing a great job at being Commander. Outbursts are going to happen as your new normal levels out. That's to be expected. Even I'm..." He trailed off and looked very uncomfortable. "How are the other things going for you?" He began to shift from foot to foot.

                She shook her head and moved to mount her horse. "I am not going to talk about that."

                He sighed, she wasn't sure if it was relief or annoyance since she kept her back to him. "I thought it might be one of the problems you're having." He said quietly. "Cara is certainly making use of her surroundings." He said referring to the stories they'd heard about her and Levi's brother using only one room.

                Now in her saddle she looked back at him. His face was pink. If it had been the Circle she would have most likely said something to discourage him, and then found someone she wouldn't have to spend time with later to relieve herself. But as Rory was a teammate he was someone she considered off limits. "It is, but I'm dealing with that as best I can."

                Rory's face flushed a little redder. "Should I set-up your tent further..." Not wanting to propose openly what Alistair had suggested about her being open to arrangements because of her Circle upbringing. Wynne had also explained that young mages often had dalliances, but rarely real relationships because they were forbidden.

                Solona laughed. "I am capable of setting up my own tent you know. Besides we should get to Redcliffe today. It's only a single days ride to the town. As long as we keep moving that is." Rory didn't take the dismissal personally, and started the horses trotting to catch up with the others.

                They made good time, and made it to town a two hours before sunset. The runner waiting by the bridge was unexpected but Elissa had a bad feeling all the same. The town was too quiet for this time of day. Alistair was looking extremely concerned.

                "This isn't right." He muttered. "Even with the Blight on there should be more people about."

                "Maybe the runner at the bridge will know more." Elissa suggested.

                The runner gave them the worse news possible. Redcliffe was being overrun by undead, coming from the castle. Worse the patrols for the roads that had been keeping the area safe from darkspawn that had reported to the castle had disappeared.

                "We need a plan." Elissa said harshly. Already being here was igniting her temper with Isolde over Alistair's past here.

                Alistair turned to Solona. "If Teagan is the one running things here it would be best if the Commander leads." He said to the group but giving her a smile which was meant to give her support. "Anything he knows he'll report to Eamon. Including who I am, and that Elissa could be queen. It's best Eamon not know that." The party understood the undeclared order. Elissa was simply a warden for the moment.

                Elissa nodded and turned to Solona with a bow of her head. "We are yours to command, Commander."

                Solona glared at her. "I still owe you a lightning bolt for making me Commander."

                Elissa giggled but looked at Rory and Alistair as they both backed up several steps. "Actually... they made you Commander, not me." She said, refusing to take credit for it. "I only asked who they thought should be Commander."

                Sighing with exasperation Solona looked back at the wagon. "First order, get into the Warden Armor we brought. Let's go in looking like an army." Solona stayed in her fade armor but she added the Commander's cloak over it.

                They moved further down into the town. The looks they were getting betrayed both desperation and hope as the group walked past. They were directed to the Chantry to meet with Teagan. As they entered the doors Elissa watched Sole as she walked with a confidence that three months ago she didn't have. She was so proud of her cousin.

                Solona walked straight up to a very exhausted looking Lord Teagan. He told her the village was attacked the past three nights by small forces of undead that were growing each night as the dead joined the attacks the following night. When Teagan finally looked over the group he was surprised when he recognized Alistair, but to Elissa it seemed as if he expected and relieved to see him among the group.

                "Alistair, thank the Maker you are alive." Teagan sighed with relief. "We were worried when we heard about Ostagar. No one had heard from you in months! I had hoped you survived!"

                "It's kind of hard to travel openly with a price on our heads." Alistair said sternly.

                Teagan's brow raised at Alistair's rebuke, but he smiled in reaction. "Still I am glad to see you all." He said looking over the group once more. Elissa kept her head slightly bowed, there was a good chance he'd recognize her as well, but he turned back to Solona. "Can I depend on you and your men Commander to help defend the village this evening?" The hope in his voice was sincere.

                Solona nodded. "Of course." She told him with authority. "We have five front line fighters, two archers, and three mages among us, two of which are healers and our two mabari. If you have men in need of healing, we will gladly help."

                His surprise was hard to hide but he nodded gratefully. "We have the injured over here," he said pointing off to the right side of the Chantry, there was a room in the back where moaning could be heard. He also told her of a few things that needed to be done before nightfall if they could help out. Solona agreed.

                She turned to face the party behind her. "Alistair, you know the town best. You search the town with Leliana and Zevran, anything useful and anyone not already here send them to the Chantry, especially if they are hurt." She ordered.

                "Yes Commander." He snapped with military respect, Leliana and Zevran nodded and Zevran clasped his arms over his chest as he bowed.

                "Rory, take Shale and talk to the mayor, and the Redcliffe knights up the top of the hill about the battle and work out a plan for the evening. I trust you will work in the terrain into your plans better than anyone else." She ordered him.

                "Yes Commander." He said with the same level of military respect Alistair had given her. He also gave her a smile and nodded, letting her see his respect for her commands. She gave him a tight nod and smile.

                "Elissa, take Sten and look into the dwarf and his allies, and then help with the soldiers in the tavern." She stopped for a moment. "They are likely the ones with Sten's sword."

                "Yes Commander. That was my thoughts too ma'am." She said, doing her best to sound as crisp as the boys had. Solona winced slightly at being called ma'am, but Teagan was behind her and didn't see it.

                "Adele and Flynn." Both dogs perked up. "See what you can do about the morale of the children and find any of them hiding in the village, children can get into the strangest places when they are scared." They both barked softly and waited.

                "Dismissed." She said with a smirk at Alistair and Rory, but both saluted her, making her roll her eyes at them. The party turned as one to obey her commands when she turned back to Teagan. "Please take us to your wounded."

                He looked as the others all left the Chantry to carry out her orders. "I thought you had three mages?" He asked looking a little uncomfortable.

                Wynne smiled warmly, trying to ease Teagan's nerves. "The Commander is the best Spirit Healer I have ever taught."

                Solona chuckled. "Second best." She personally had always thought Anders was better.

                Teagan looked at Solona again only now taking notice of the staff on her back between the two wicked looking daggers." I wouldn't have guessed." He said quietly.

                "Called me Solona." She said warmly and she began to walk towards the wounded area. "Morrigan if you can apply poultice to the wounds we don't need to see to, and if you feel up to it please heal them. Wynne and I will see to the seriously wounded ones."

                "Of course... Commander." She said with her normal sarcastic tone. Solona chuckled but took her gauntlets off and removed her cloak so she could begin healing.

                The remaining Chantry Templars responded to the healing magic but held back when they saw the three were healing the wounded. Teagan pulled them aside and reminded them that Warden mages were not apostates, and told them that Solona was the Warden-Commander. The Chantry mother wasn't happy but she kept quiet since her very survival through the night likely depended on the lives of the mages and their allies.

                It was nearly nightfall when everyone came back, and they reported back in to Solona. Everything that could be done had been done to prepare the village and its defenders. Sten was happy for once as he carried the sword he'd been looking all over Ferelden for. His sword was called a Sword of the Beresaad, and was named Asala. Zevran had found oil in the store and it was placed up at the top of the hill. Leliana had promised the blacksmith they'd look into seeing if his daughter was alive once they entered the castle, so he'd gone back to work. Elissa had managed to scare the local barkeep into serving the local militia just enough ale to give them some morale, but not get them drunk. The knights were feeling better after Shale had gotten the reverend mother to agree that providing blessed amulets was also good for morale (or at least she suggested blood splattered amulets would be just as good as clean blessed ones and the chantry mother had handed her the spare amulets she had). Sten had convinced an elf archer and the Dwarven mercenaries to join them too. Thanks to Wynne, Morrigan and Solona they had cleared the Chantry of any wounded. While not all would be back on the field tonight some were, and every weapon would count. The dogs had managed to round up several children who were outside the Chantry and then played with them inside.

                Rory suggested Wynne, Shale and Zevran stay down below in the Village proper. "Keep the bonfire big and bright and throw all the dismembered undead into it. It will keep them from reforming later." He explained to them. "Zevran your job is to watch for attacks from other sources and sound an alert if they come from any other direction." They acknowledged him.

                "The dogs would be best to be inside the Chantry to help calm and protect the people inside. Undead flesh could make them sick." He said. Both dogs whined at being left out but did bark their acceptance of their orders once Solona and Elissa backed Rory up.

                "The bottleneck to get from the castle to us is good for us and the knights above. We can setup in lines and switch out each wave to get a breather between attacks and keep us from getting too tired." Everyone again agreed to his plan. "There are several barrels of oil ready to burn up top. We can set them so the undead will have to run through the flames to reach us. This way we can push them back in as we defeat them. This will give them 'final death' and make it more difficult for their reinforcements to climb over the flames and their bodies."

                "Sounds like those are our plans." Elissa said. "Everyone eat something before heading to your areas."

                It was a long night, Solona had to heal quite a few burns but otherwise she spent most of her mana on fire spells behind the fires started by the oil, it was the safest place to cast her most powerful spells and the most effective as time went on and the undead were forced to slow down to climb over the bodies of the previous wave. Elissa had lost count of the amount of bodies they had killed at the top of the hill before they were alerted to the undead coming from the lake. They'd left the knights to guard the upper level and the party had raced down the hill to defend the rest of the village. While the fighting stopped after about two hours, it took until nearly morning to make sure all the bodies burned in pyres and turned to ash. All the mages were out of mana by the time the last of the bodies was thrown into the flames.

                They as a group headed back towards the Chantry. The non-combatants were patching up the wounded, although the most wounded had already been seen by Wynne. The group were given the Mother's teaching room to place their sleeping rolls. It was only a few hours later that they were awoken by the screeching of a distraught woman.

                "Teagan you must come, Conner needs you." The Orlesian accent cut through any grogginess Elissa was feeling. Alistair moaned as she suddenly pushed up and surged out of their sleeping furs and charged out of the room in only the under armor leathers of the Grey Warden armor.

                As she came out of the room in she took a quick look and saw Isolde pleading with Teagan who looked exhausted and exasperated. They were alone in the Chantry main hall which struck Elissa as odd, she'd expected there to be several people in there. In a few seconds Elissa cross the distance between the doorway and Isolde. She took several deep breath and mentally placed her political mask on. In her hurry to get up she didn't realize she'd woken Alistair who was also entering the great hall behind her.

                "Teagan what is going on out here?" Elissa asked politely, completely dismissing Isolde's presence.

                Teagan looked up as Elissa spoke and pushed Isolde further away from him, firmly but carefully. "I am sorry Warden. I hope we did not wake you and your companions." He said, his face like hers was a polite mask.

                Isolde's face was twisted into a horrible jealous harpy look. "Who is this woman Teagan?" She asked, her jealousy dripping from each word.

                Alistair came up behind Elissa at that point and wrapped his arm around her waist. Knowing how she felt two days before about Isolde he was concerned what Elissa might do. "Morning Love." He whispered in her ear, causing Elissa to smile slightly.

                "Morning Alistair." She said quietly, but still loud enough for Isolde and Teagan to hear.

                Rather than wait for Teagan to introduce them Isolde sneered. "Alistair? What are you doing back here?"

                "Saving your worthless hide I am told." Elissa said dismissively. "I did wonder about the screeching, but I can see it wasn't a bird caught inside now."

                Teagan hide his amusement at the comment, he'd wondered if Elissa was a noble yesterday but there hadn't been time to ask. He had also noticed how close Elissa and Alistair were and he was happy to see that Alistair was so obviously in love with the woman.

                Alistair too snorted in her ear and whispered. "Good job, she's seething." He kissed behind her ear, making her smile happily.

                "You were never supposed to come back here." She snapped, and actually stomped her foot like a child during a tantrum.

                Elissa only managed to stop herself from reaching over and pulling the bitch to her knees by her hair because Alistair had a hold on her waist. Instead she gave Isolde her version of her mother's disapproving face and waved her hand dismissively. "If you were capable of doing your job as Arlessa we would not have had to step in and defend your lands for you. Besides our business is with your husband, your petty concerns are not important."

                Teagan's eyes bulged out of his head as he watched Elissa take Isolde's fragile ego apart. Had circumstances been different he'd be enjoying this immensely. "You of course know Alistair and this is Elissa..." He fumbled, he never got Elissa's last name and since he'd only seen her battle ready or covered in soot and gore he hadn't placed her as a Cousland yet.

                "Sorry Teagan." Alistair said softly. "Elissa is my ahh..."

                "The word is fiancé." Rory said smirking as he came up behind him having heard enough that he wanted a front row seat to the rest of the conversation. Both dogs were also with him with their tongues hanging out enjoying the show.

                Alistair smiled nervously, they hadn't actually talked about any of that, but he wasn't sure what else he should call her. As Rory had told him, nobles only court those they intend to marry and he was certainly courting her. A quick look at Elissa showed he she hadn't reacted at all to Rory's suggestion. "Right, fiancé..." He cleared his throat a little more confident when Elissa gave him an encouraging smile. "Who knows everything about when I lived here... before."

                Teagan winced, "Ah... I see."

                Isolde had enough and took a really good look at Elissa. When she finally got a good look at Elissa's face she backed up a step and gasped. "Lady Cousland."

                "Teyrnessa actually." Elissa said with that same dismissive tone she'd been using since she had walked in. Teagan moaned in mortification and was suddenly on his guard. He stepped forward between the two ladies but tried to make it look as if he was only coming forward to greet Elissa properly. He'd heard enough over the years to know these two women hated each other, passionately. Isolde had been very vocal about being lectured by a child about her responsibilities, however the woman standing here not only outranked them both, but also was a very skilled warrior, and was certainly no child.

                "Teyrnessa, I am sorry had I know you were with the Warden's. I'd have seen to your accommodations myself." He said formally, trying to salvage as much as he could of the worst possible situation he'd ever been in, both politically and in actually considering the state of the village and surrounding area.

                Elissa waved him off with a fake but affectionate looking smile. "I am with the wardens for my own safety, as well as staying with Alistair." She said with a genuine smile for Alistair as she looked up at him, squeezing his arm to thank him for his support. Not ripping Isolde's throat out was harder than she thought it would be.

                Isolde suddenly wiped her head around at looked at him with distain. "Alistair? You are actually with this bastard?" She snarled.

                Elissa was quick to move towards her intent on backhanding her for the insult, but Alistair held her back. "You are never going to speak to him in that tone again." She said angrily. "Despite what you might think of yourself, Alistair is of more worth than you... _Arlessa_." She said her title with as much contempt as she could muster, which had Isolde steaming mad.

                Isolde turned her back to Elissa and began to plead with him. "Teagan send them away, please. I need you to come to the castle with me. I need you."

                Teagan pushed her away and glared at her. "What do you know about the attacks?" He asked her giving her a little shake. "The village is being overrun with undead coming from the castle itself, and now you come here unharmed?"

                Isolde waved his concern off. "That doesn't matter, I only have a little time and I need to bring you back with me." She said with her selfish whiney voice. "Please Teagan, Conner needs you."

                "The village needs him." Elissa said impassively. "In case you didn't notice there are many dead and wounded people here... Your people."

                Isolde glared at her. "That doesn't matter, only Conner does." She turned back to Teagan. "You must come."

                 "So he can be killed too?" Morrigan said from behind everyone else. "The woman is mad." She said to Elissa. From her vantage point she could see the rest of the party was now awake and entering the main hall and various states of dress.

                It was then that Isolde realized she was surrounded by nine people, two war dogs, and a golem who were standing against her. Her grip on Teagan tightened. "Please, I can't lose Conner, we went through too much to have him, please." She begged, her tears were flowing too fast to be anything but real.

                Elissa was instantly suspicious. "What about the rest of people in the castle, where is Eamon?" Isolde continued to ignore her and the rest of the party.

                Teagan's head snapped to Elissa. His expression looked more than a little fearful. "Isolde, answer the Teyrnessa question, where is my brother?"

                "He's been poisoned by the mage and won't wake!" She wailed, breaking down further.

                "Mage? What mage?" Teagan asked, he grabbed Isolde by the shoulders. "What is going on Isolde, tell me!"

                "I can't!" She wailed once more. "She'll kill Conner if you don't come back with me."

                Elissa and Solona shared a look. "A word Teagan." Elissa snapped and gestured to the side. Teagan nodded and pulled Isolde grip from his clothing and walked just far enough away to not be overheard. "Both you and I know she's too stupid to have thought of the ramifications of both your entire family and mine being wiped out at the same time as Cailan being killed."

                Teagan cursed. "Andraste's ass, I know, but what choice do I have?" He looked pained. "I can't just abandon Conner."

                "Why would there be a mage in the Castle?" She asked suspiciously. "I thought Eamon doesn't like mages. Why would he have a court mage?"

                Teagan looked fearful. "He doesn't as far as I know... We had another sister, she was a mage," He explained, "younger than me, she set him on fire when she was seven. That's why he doesn't like mages. He thinks they are dangerous and I can't see him allowing one near Conner."

                "Still begs the question why now? And if the mage poisoned him, is he still alive? If he's dead Conner is heir, and then you. Putting you both in a castle that has never been breached by an army, never mind a group our size is stupid and reckless." She pointed out. "You have a duty to your own people of Rainsfaire as well as the people that have been attacked here."

                Teagan looked desperately at her. "But I can't abandon _my son_." He said quietly. His eyes begged her to understand. “No one knows except Isolde and myself... Please, I need to go and see if I can save him."

                Elissa was shocked. She just started at him in horror, she couldn't ask him not to go now. If she had a child in danger she knew nothing could keep her from doing as Teagan was about to do. "Well that's just... Fuck... So I take it I can't talk you out of this." Her tone was sympathetic.

                He shook his head forlornly, and pulled off his signet ring. "There is a secret passage that leads to the Windmill. It comes up in the basement of the Castle. Please do what you can, I shouldn't ask this of you, but I have too. There is no one else I can trust to see this through."

                "Your family escape route?" She asked quietly, resigned to having to storm the castle on only a few hours of sleep.

                "Yes." He handed it to her. He knew she would know the significance of allowing her to use the tunnel and the power he was placing in her hand by giving her his ring. If he died she'd have his vote at the Landsmeet until a new Bann for Rainsfaire was awarded. If Eamon and Connor also died, she’d have Redcliffe, and its allies as her votes as well.

                "You can count on us Teagan." She promised. Her heart heavy with the knowledge that it was likely that even if they managed to take the Castle, Teagan would likely be dead by the time they got there.

                He gave her a very sad smile. "Of course I can, you're a Cousland." He paused before kissing her cheek. "Please save Conner. If the choice is him or I, chose Connor!"

                She nodded her head sorrowfully. "I'd do everything in our power to do so." She refused to say goodbye to the brave man as he walked away with the harpy Isolde.

                An hour later the group were split into two groups. Wynne was still too tired, Sten and Shale who were too big for the passageway, and both dogs stayed behind with the soldiers who were going to wait for the rest of the party to open the gates.

                The rest had gone through the passageway and into the dungeon. The room they came up into looked like a storage room for crates but the crates themselves were only filled with straw. In the corridor they could hear the sound of several undead creatures trying to get at something. They walked into the hallway and took down the three easily enough. Inside the cell was a man in a robe, he'd been beaten and left broken in the cell.

                "This must be the mage that Isolde said poisoned Eamon." Alistair said angrily.

                Elissa snorted and soothed Alistair. "I wouldn't trust Isolde to know the color of the sky never mind something as important as who tried to kill her husband." She reminded him. He grudgingly agreed with her and watched him carefully.

                Solona moved into the cell and turned the mage over. She gasped and started to frantically cast healing spells. "Jowan! Oh Maker! Please, Jowan. wake up!" One last healing spell finally brought him around after almost a full minute of casting.

                He looked up at her in confusion. "Sole?" His head wound still looked bad so she cast more healing spells on his head.

                "Jowan what are you doing here?" She asked, forgetting about ever being angry with him, just glad her friend was alive. He was exhausted after three days without food or water, and nursing his own injures with a concussion.

                "You know him?" Alistair asked slightly hostile.

                "Obviously she does, she called him by his name." Morrigan snipped.

                Elissa pulled Alistair away. "Jowan was the name of her best friend that she accidently helped to escape the tower." She whispered to him. "She didn't know he was a blood mage, it's the reason she's here as a Warden. Greagoir was going to make him Tranquil and she helped him to escape."

                Alistair remembered who he was now. Duncan had considered recruiting him and it had made him angry even then. "How could she..."

                Elissa put her hand over his mouth to quiet him. "He was her best friend for most of her life, isn't she allowed to be happy to see him alive when so many she knows are dead?" She could sympathize with how Solona must be feeling, she had felt similar feelings of relief when they found Rory. She knew that Alistair too would understand once he thought about it, having lost so many at Ostagar.

                Leliana had gathered everyone else over to the other side of the room and seemed to be talking intently with Rory, while Solona and Jowan were still talking in his cell.

                Elissa wondered back over just in time to hear Solona say she forgave him. "You have no idea how much I regret listening to Uldred." He was crying softly in her lap. "I was just so frightened when he told me they were going to tranquil me. That was even before I had even looked at the blood magic texts. I didn't know what else to do. And then a few weeks later Lily found the paperwork authorizing it. I had nowhere else to turn to."

                Solona was soothing his hair. "I know. Uldred is dead. We killed him. He won't hurt anyone else again." She was crying softly. "You should have come to me Jowan… We will figure something out."

                "It's too late for me." He cried too, his face had aged years in the couple of months since his escape. At pained her deeply to see the boy she'd known her whole life so burdened and hopeless. "I've lost Lily, and now the Arlessa is going to have me executed because I poisoned her husband."

                "Why would you do that?" Alistair asked, his face twisted with anger, having overheard the confession.

                Jowan's eyes were glazed over with regret and fear as he lifted his chin to look at Alistair. "I was caught by Templars, when they got me back to the Tower I would have been hanged. Loghain and his men offered me a way out. If I poisoned the Arl and stopped him from causing a civil war during the blight, I'd be granted my freedom, or they would kill me on the spot."

                Solona gasped. "Oh Jowan." She held him tightly. As angry as she had been at him for turning to blood magic she understood his reasoning, it was quite similar to Cara's. Being as magically gifted as she was, becoming Tranquil was never in the cards for her. Irving had taken her under his wing when she was young, and she had protection against the Templars in the form of her family connections. She'd forgotten her friends didn't have those same advantages. Jowan's story fit with the things she'd read in Irving's journal that they'd stolen from the tower. He'd relied on Uldred to tell him who were blood mages and those who were not. Uldred must have made several people into blood mages just to turn them in to 'prove' his skills. Jowan was obviously one of them.

                Elissa smiled grimly. She'd known that the word of an elf wouldn't be enough to charge anyone with this crime when they’d gotten the Elven messenger she found in the tavern to admit he worked for Loghain before the battle. The word of a human co-conspirator would be enough to bring charges before the courts, even if he was a blood mage. "Can you stand?" She asked.

                "I think so." He sighed. Rory helped him up and Solona offered him a vial of restoration potion. He was able to stand on his own once he was up and drank the potion.

                "Well... you'll have to come along with us." Elissa said. "We'll need you to testify against Loghain at the Landsmeet." Alistair looked disgruntled, but stopped looking ready to kill the mage.

                "We could leave him in his cell until we need to bring him to Denerim." Alistair suggested.

                Solona stepped in front of him and stared Alistair down. "Those things were trying to reach through the bars for him!"

                "As much as I hate to agree with Alistair on anything, perhaps it will be safer for him." Morrigan pointed out. "We do not know what we will face in the coming hours, and he is already so weak." She added condescendingly. "I thought you hated blood mages?" She continued. "You despised Cara for that, did you not?"

                Solona looked back at her friend and back at Alistair. "Please tell me you haven't used it since?" She whispered to Jowan. Alistair could see the pain on her face. As much as he wanted to let her have her friend, her friend had poisoned and likely killed Eamon.

                Jowan shook his head. "I wouldn't be in this mess if I had attacked Loghain's men with it." He looked down at the decaying bodies. "Where did the undead come from?" He asked them.

                "We were hoping you knew that actually." Leliana said carefully.

                Jowan shook his head. "No, I was already locked up when they started attacking." He shook his head. "I think they questioned me about that. It's a little fuzzy, but I didn't know anything."

                Solona looked confused. "Could Loghain have sent a necromancer too?" She couldn't think of who else would be summoning undead and making them attack the village.

                "No, the only other mage here in the castle is the Arl’s son Conner." Jowan told her. "I was brought here to teach him to hide his magic so he wouldn't have to go to the Circle."

                Elissa closed her eyes and swore. Her fury at Isolde increased. That blighted woman was playing with forces she couldn't understand and she as now responsible for the mess the Arling was in during a civil war and a blight.

                Alistair sputtered. "Conner is a mage?"

                "Yes, I've taught him only how to access the Fade. He can't learn to control the magic until he can feel the magic." Jowan explained. "I haven't taught him anything else, I swear!"

                Solona smiled at him. "I know." She grabbed his hand and squeezed it to help reassured him.

                "Loghain obviously knew about Conner if they searched out an apostate to come teach him." Elissa said coldly, her temper was burning so high she was unable to think on anything else. "We better move."

                Solona grabbed Elissa's arm. "If there are no other mages here other than Conner, it is likely he is being possessed by a demon. There is no other explanation for all of this." She said gesturing to the undead corpses on the floor.

                "It is the most likely conclusion." Morrigan agreed.

                Alistair closed his eyes and pleaded. "Maker! Is there any way to save him, if he is?"

                Elissa looked hopefully to the mages. "There must be some way. I promised Teagan to try."

                Jowan said yes while Solona and Morrigan said no. Solona turned to Jowan in surprise. "What do you mean yes. If he's an abomination..."

                "I don't think he's a changed one." Jowan said. "They were asking what _I'd_ done when they came down here... Not what Conner had done."

                "A changed one?" Alistair asked. "What's a changed one?"

                Jowan looked at him. "As a templar you've fought abominations before or at least seen pictures, yes?" While dressed as a grey warden Alistair's bearing screamed templar.

                Alistair looked stern and nodded. As much as he disliked Jowan for poisoning Eamon he was offering hope for Conner. He didn't feel it was a good time to tell him about the Circle if he didn't already know. "I wasn't a templar, but yes I've fought them before."

                Jowan shot him a look that said he didn't believe him but carried on anyway with his explanation. "Once the takeover is complete the body changes with the demon's possession into the distorted monstrosities you see in the pictures, but when the demon doesn't have complete control the person still looks normal. Demons will sometimes do this to hide themselves."

                "What can be done?" Elissa asked him, just as curious as Alistair and Solona.

                "We'd have to enter the Fade like a Harrowing and defeat the specific demon holding him."

                "And risk possession ourselves?" Morrigan scoffed.

                Jowan looked away. "Solona defeated a demon during her Harrowing, and so has everyone who has ever undergone the ritual."

                Solona blushed and looked down but Elissa chuckled. "Actually is was three demons was it not?" She asked Solona.

                "I had help from Valor." She reminded her.

                Jowan's jaw dropped. "Three?" He squeaked and nearly began hyperventilating.

                "I only had to kill one, and outwit two others." She explained. Alistair and Rory looked very interested, but it really wasn't the time to discuss this. "We don't have enough lyrium dust to perform the ritual or enough mages to enter the Fade."

                "How many do you need?" Elissa asked. "And how much lyrium?"

                "A coven of five is preferable, and I don't know how much lyrium." Jowan said. He looked extremely nervous. "The reason I know so much about this is because blood magic has a tie to demons. After blood magic is preformed it makes a mage easier to find in the Fade for a time, usually several weeks. During that time blood mages are prone to possession more than at any other time."

                "It's ok Jowan. Knowing this is helping us come up with a plan to save Conner." Solona said encouragingly. She was surprised by her turn around on the subject. Blood magic had always been a sore spot for her, but with both Cara and now Jowan showing such remorse for trying it, she was willing to overlook their use of it. But only as long as they didn't revert to it again. If he had still been practicing blood magic she wasn't sure she could look the other way, even if he hadn’t killed anyone. Cara had and was trying to atone for it. Didn't Jowan deserve the same chance? Of course his fate was tied to Eamon's. She doubted Alistair or Elissa would support her conscription of Jowan if Eamon died.

                "There is one other way to enter the Fade, but it requires a blood sacrifice instead of lyrium." He spat out quickly. "And I really, _really_ don't want to do it." He pleaded, his voice and body all betraying just how scared the prospect of doing it made him. Elissa could honestly say she had never seen that level of fear and doubt in someone eyes before. Elissa was surprised he'd told them that about the option but was grateful. It gave them a way to save Conner if they needed it.

                "We also have the option of getting everything we need from the Tower." Rory reminded them. "It's day's ride there and a day's ride back. If the boy can hold out that long."

                "If he's already changed nothing else can be done?" Elissa asked for clarification. "Even going in and killing the thing won't help?"

                Jowan, Morrigan and Solona were all shaking their heads. "No, at that point there is nothing of the person still inside. The demon would have pushed the person's soul into the Fade. That's why the sloth abomination fell dead when we emerged from the dreams." Solona explained. Jowan looked as if he was going to ask questions but held his tongue as Zevran emerged from the shadows at his elbow, startling him.

                "Then we better get a move on, no?" Zevran who had been quiet to this point said softly. "The child will need to be reached quickly."

 

                It had been like the Tower all over again, but this time they had a bitchy mage and two rogues who could pick locks, which helped to find the Blacksmith's daughter alive and allowed them to check all the rooms so no monsters where left behind them. Jowan was watching their backs during attacks, and had helped when he could, but combat wasn't his area of expertise. His battle magic wasn't as strong as Morrigan and Solona, not that the group needed it.

                 It wasn't long before they took the Castle and Courtyard. Elissa ordered the Redcliffe guards to secure the courtyard while they checked the inner Keep. If Conner was possessed as they thought, then it would be best if the guards were outside. Jowan recommended he wait just outside the doors until they were ready for him. Wynne agreed and decided she would stay outside with him while Shale and Sten join them inside. Jowan looked resigned but steady when he sat down on the steps with Wynne.

                Walking into the Keep they encountered no resistance, nor as they moved into the great hall only to find Teagan doing back flips under the control of the half-possessed child mage Conner. The few guards in the room were obviously under the thrall of the demon while Isolde was watching and crying as Teagan threw himself around at the whim of the child demon.

                When the demon became aware of them he stopped making Teagan play the fool and he fell like a puppet with its strings cut. It looked up at them through Conner's eyes. "Are these the people who you told me of mother? The ones who stopped my soldiers from reclaiming my village? What is it? I can't see it well enough?" The child's voice was distorted by the demon, giving him an eerie double timbre to his voice, one melodic, one discordant.

                "Yes Conner." Isolde said with a heavy stutter. "They are people, Grey Wardens."

                Elissa felt her rage peaking and wishing she could kill the woman. Rory stayed back with her. "Let Solona deal with it Elissa, you're too emotional. We'll get our pound of flesh after Conner is free." He whispered to her. Elissa nodded and gave Alistair an accepting gesture when he had half turned to see where she was, but his attention was pulled back towards the demon boy. Despite never having met the boy Alistair obviously felt a connection to him.

                Conner was threatening to have the party killed when Elissa began to pay attention once more. Isolde was begging him not to hurt anyone. For a moment the boy was back asking her what was happening, but then the demon reasserted itself yelling at her to get away from him.

                Isolde begged Solona not to hurt him. Solona and Morrigan got her to admit that Conner was the one who had ripped the veil. She tried to blame Jowan for summoning the demon, but even Elissa knew better. Morrigan taunted the child about making deals when the demon yelled that the deal to save the Arl was a fair one, admitting the guilt of the child in summoning it. Conner continued his rant about wanting power to conquer the world. Teagan had come in roaring about his brother and it taunted them about how the demon had made Teagan into the fool instead. It shouted further at Isolde about her sending the knights out on a fool's errand and making his life boring. He ran off after ordering his 'guards' to attack the intruders.

                Seven against eleven meant the battle was over quickly. All the knights and Teagan were knocked out. To ensure they stayed unconscious Morrigan cast a sleep spell on all but Teagan. Solona quickly healed those that needed it. Isolde was crying over Teagan when everyone was done with their post battle checked and Solona again put herself forward. Rory once more was at Elissa's elbow near the back of the group. Teagan got to his feet and pushed Isolde to an arm's length away.

                "I am fine, and my mind my own once more." He said to Solona as she cast a simple healing spell on him. He had been hit in the head by Elissa's shield knocking him out of the fight.

                "I would never have forgiven myself if you had died after bringing you here. What a fool I am!" Isolde said tearfully.

                Elissa wasn't buying it. "So no remorse for the villagers, just Teagan." She said with contempt. "How predictable."

                "Conner's not responsible and neither am I!" She screeched.

                "Aren't you?" Solona asked her with a great deal of anger. "You are responsible because you were hiding his mage skills and hiring an apostate to teach him!" she snapped. "You knew what he was doing, and you did nothing to stop it!"

                "What could I do?" She cried. "If the Circle or the Templars found out they would kill him! I want to help him."

                "So you sacrificed over a hundred people just to hide what you've done?" Teagan asked her with disgust. "And you've hidden what was done to Eamon!"

                "I have not!" She cried, tears running down her face and her hands covering her eyes, as if covering them would allow her to be blinded from the truth. "We don't know what to do, so I have sent the knights to find the Temple of Sacred Ashes to heal him!"

                "That's a myth!" Alistair finally cut in looking completely exasperated with Isolde's theatrics. "Even the Chantry thinks it's a myth!"

                "It is not a myth!" Isolde shouted. "Brother Genitivi in Denerim has found it!"

                Elissa stepped forward with fake concern. "Perhaps it would be best to let Teagan take control of the Arling while Eamon is indisposed. You are obviously too distrait." She gave her a condescending smile. "Perhaps you should watch over your son like a good mother would."

                Isolde looked ready to explode for a moment before she wilted and nodded despondently. "Teagan please come see me when you are done here."

                "Of course Isolde." He said pleasantly. They all waited for her to clear the room.

                "I am so sorry..." Teagan began before Elissa waved him off.

                "Don't Teagan, you didn't marry the bitch." Elissa sighed with weary disgust. "I never understood what Eamon saw in her."

                Teagan snorted. "A pretty face and money."

                Elissa smiled. "I was afraid you cared for your sister-in-law." Her tone gave nothing away about his secret. She pulled out his signet ring and handed it back to him

                "Hardly." He spat with disgust. "I scarcely spend time here any longer." He gratefully placed his ring back on his finger.

                Alistair smiled softly. "I remembered you being here all the time before they married."

                Teagan smiled warmly at Alistair. "And I remember you always getting yourself into trouble. A day in the cages downstairs, disappearing cheese plates, and any and every puddle of mud... In fact, the last time I saw you before yesterday you were covered in mud."

                Alistair nodded. "The day before I left for the Chantry. I ruined the new clothes by rolling in a thick pile of mud." He sighed happily. "Good times."

                Teagan's smile slipped. "I tried to fight that once I heard, to have you sent to me instead. Eamon had already pledged you." He told him miserably. "Your father wasn't happy either." He said careful to not out Alistair's secret any further than Isolde had already done.

                Alistair shrugged but gave him a thankful smile all the same. "It's worked out for the best." He said placing his arm around Elissa. "I'm happier than I can ever remember being before, in part because of that time in the Chantry." He smiled down at her. Seeing him that happy was the only reason Elissa was able to ignore the thoughts she had of ordering Teagan to kill Isolde for her part in the fall of the Arling.

                "I still can't believe Conner did all this?" Teagan said sadly. Looking around at the destroyed tables and chairs in the hall. Elissa knew he was thinking about the destroyed village below.

                "Demons are quite crafty." Morrigan said. "The child should have been taught to never make deals with demons."

                Solona glared at her. "He was being taught to hide his magic, not how to be a mage." She reminded her. "The Arlessa was unlikely to want her precious darling to know about demons!"

                "Your friend should have started with it, regardless of what the woman wanted." Morrigan said.

                "Your friend?" Teagan questioned angrily. "The mage in the basement is a friend of yours?"

                Solona glared at Morrigan and shook her head. This was not how she wanted to broach the subject of Jowan with Teagan. "He is no longer in your basement. He's now a Grey Warden recruit, and a witness against Loghain. It was under Loghain's orders that he came here to poison Eamon."

                Teagan looked outraged. "You are going to recruit him?"

                Alistair too looked angry and was about to speak up, when Elissa shook her head. "She's the Commander." she whispered. "Question her later in private." Alistair's determined expression told her Solona and he would be having words soon.

                "None of this is important right now." Solona said. "We need to get the demon out before it takes complete control of Conner."

                "He can be saved?" Teagan gasped, his face hopeful.

                "Possibly." She told him. "Jowan believes it can be done, but we need more mages and lyrium." She told him. "Both which we can get at the Circle, but if we succeed they will likely take Conner immediately afterward."

                "Or we can do a blood ritual and save him now, but someone else dies for the expediency and his secret is intact for a while." Morrigan told him.

                Solona turned angrily and growled at Morrigan. "We will not do blood magic!"

                "Isolde's life is forfeit anyway, it would give her death meaning if we use her to power it." Elissa said dispassionately. Inside she wished they could do it. The woman had betrayed her duty and her people with her actions causing over a hundred deaths in a time when they could least afford it.

                Alistair looked down at her in shock. "What?"

                Elissa just shrugged. "It was a passing thought."

                Alistair stepped away from her and shook his head. "We will need to leave immediately to fetch someone, it will take several days to go and collect people and lyrium and get back here." He said quickly.

                Solona nodded, "Alistair, Elissa and Rory." She ordered. "You all ride the fastest, so you go. We will keep Conner asleep and hopefully that will help keep the demon at bay."

                "It's mid-afternoon, if we leave now and ride through past dark we can get there by late-evening." Rory said. "And if we take all the horses we can make the trip back just as quickly."

                The three left right away to get back to the village as fast as possible to ride out. Elissa noticed Alistair was being distant with her but she shrugged it off as concern for Conner. They had been riding hard for two hours before they slowed the horses to give them a bit of a rest. The three were riding beside each other when Alistair suddenly glared at Elissa.

                "Why would you suggest we use Isolde that way?" He asked her scornfully.

                Elissa was stunned at his anger. "What are you talking about?" She asked having already forgotten the idea of using Isolde in the ritual, it really had only been the voicing of her frustration with Isolde's lack of morality and duty that had her say anything at all earlier.

                "Using her to power the ritual." He snapped.

                Elissa blinked as she tried to figure out what to say. "I was being flippant Alistair. I know she needs a trial before she can be executed." She explained now that she knew what it was he was mad about.

                He glared at her. "Someone might have taken it seriously. Morrigan for one."

                Elissa glared back at him her temper flaring, for someone who enjoyed being sarcastic himself he was being awful judgmental for her own words. "Do you honestly think I would go along with blood magic?" Alistair held his tongue but it was clear from his expression that he did. She gasped as she realized he did honestly think she would turn to Blood Magic. "Alistair! How could you think that?"

                He looked away from her, staring into the darkness ahead of them. "Your track record so far has been pro-blood magic."

                "You mean Cara and Jowan?" She snapped. "Both of whom had true reason to fear for their lives before turning to it as a last resort and haven't used it since. Who both regret it? Who are trying to atone?"

                "You didn't know that when you recruited Cara, and we don't know that Jowan isn't responsible for what happened!" He yelled back at her.

                She glared at him. "I happen to be good at reading people, and I was giving her a chance to prove I was right before giving her a real chance outside the Circle. If I was wrong, I would have cut her down myself!"

                "And if you are wrong about Jowan, are you going to cut him down too, even if Sole objects?" He questioned, his tone suggesting he didn't think so.

                "If Eamon dies, so does Jowan." She said coldly. "Sole knows that too." She pulled herself up straight in her saddle and kicked her horse into a gallop ahead of them.

                "Damn Alistair. You just made a huge mistake." Rory said quietly.

                He turned and angrily faced Rory. "I don't think I did. I won't condone blood magic."

                Rory shook his head. "No one expects you to, least of all Elissa. That's not what you said to her. You were questioned her integrity, ethics and basically told her you don't trust her." Alistair looked thoughtful but determined. "We better hurry to catch up."

                It was well into the night before they arrived at the Tower. The ferry ride was extremely quiet as Elissa refused to look at Alistair, and Rory was staying as far from both of them as possible. Alistair was deep in thought about how the conversation had gone. He had needed to ask her about the comment she'd made, and the longer they had ridden the angrier he'd become. Knowing she still had every intention of killing Isolde if she had the chance didn't sit well with him. She was still Eamon's wife, and he loved her. While Alistair himself cared little what happened to her, Eamon had been the closest thing to relative he'd ever had, even if the relationship wasn't of blood.

                Inside the tower things had moved quickly. They'd been shown to a room with three sectioned off sleeping areas. Elissa hadn't even looked at him as she walked to the furthest bed and began removing her armor. Rory took the next room and silently motioned for him to take the one closest to the door. With a sigh Alistair nodded and went to the bed. It would be the first night since the Deep Roads that he would be sleeping alone, and despite how tired he was he found it hard to fall asleep.

                The next morning Elissa woke feeling sick and feverish. It had been some time since she had felt this ill. She gone to see Irving that morning, he'd shaken his head in amusement.

                 "It's strange that you have two of this Circles healers at your disposal and you wait until now when you are away from them to fall ill." He'd chuckled at the irony of the situation.

                She sighed and placed her hand to her head where the headache that had been building suddenly made itself painfully known. "Still I'd like to see whoever you have."

                "I am sorry my dear but I can't. The only healer we have here at the moment is Anders and he's..."

                "In solitary." She finished for him.

                Irving nodded, not at all surprised she knew of that. "He'll be there for quite some time. All his guards during the uprising ended up dead. If the Templars hadn't seen the possessed cat, they wouldn't have believed it!"

                "What possessed cat?" Elissa asked intrigued.” Solona ran into one in Honnleath too right after we left here in fact."

                Irving jerked back in surprise. "A second one?" He looked thoughtful. "Perhaps I should look into this a bit more. Would you care to come along?" He asked with a sly smirk. The man certainly knew how to play the system, and how to get what he wanted from his Knight-Commander.

                She gave him a pained smile. "Gladly."

                Greagoir wasn't thrilled with their explanation for visiting Anders. Even he had to agree that with two cats and several Templars having been possessed was something that needed to be looked into. The three headed down into the cellar where Elissa was lead to a large cell with a bed, desk and several large bookcases. Inside was a tall blonde man. She couldn't see much else as he was laying down on the bed clearly asleep facing away from the bars.

                "Anders!" Barked the Knight-Commander.

                The loud voice startled the man and he was instantly sitting up with his hands glowing with lightning. "What? Who's there?" Said a voice that was raspy with disuse. Elissa could see him much better now. He was huge for a mage. His nickname was evident in his bone structure and bearing. He looked every inch a Anderfel native with a slight build, minus the accent and his eyes which were unmistakably and uniquely Ferelden golden brown.

                "Hello Anders. My name is Elissa Cousland, I'm Solona's cousin." Elissa said introducing herself before Greagoir could. "I have a few questions about the cat. Solona ran into another one and I was wondering if you could tell me what you know about the one that was down here?"

                He looked at her deep in her eyes. "I can tell you what I know... You're sick though." She nodded. He looked to Greagoir. "Will I get smited if I heal her?"

                Greagoir grumbled but waved him along. "Just heal the Warden-Commander."

                Elissa bit her lip and smiled. "Actually, that would be Sole now, since I'm not a blooded Warden."

                Greagoir rolled his eyes. "Then what title do you go by now?"

                "Teyrnessa I believe." Said Irving with a hidden smile.

                Greagoir looked uncomfortable and cleared his throat. "Of course. I'll leave you. Cullen will be down to watch over things in a minute."

                Elissa didn't miss the shiver that Anders gave at the mention of Cullen's name. "Has he gotten better?" She asked.

                Greagoir stopped. "No. We'll be sending him to another Chantry to recover more next week. Being here isn't helping him."

                Elissa nodded, "Thank you Greagoir."

                He nodded in return. "I'll make sure everything is ready for tomorrow morning. Ser Harmon will be among the Templars going with you."

                Elissa gasped, relieved that the man had lived. "He survived Ostagar?"

                Greagoir gave her a grim smile. "He was with the Mothers that came back a few days after you were last here."

                "Thank you Greagoir." She told him. He gave her a curt nod then walked away.

                "You put him on edge." Irving said quietly.

                She smiled. "Like most Knight-Commanders he is cautious of high ranking nobles. Especially ones who can call upon the Divine if we get pissed off enough."

                Anders snorted. "As much as I'm enjoying the view," he said with a bit of a playful leering smirk, "and the company, without a staff I'll need you much closer to heal you... Teyrnessa." He said her title like a caress.

                Irving chuckled. "A little decorum Enchanter Anders, please?"

                "You're taking all the fun out of this for me First Enchanter." He laughed. "I haven't had any real company in forever." He said joyfully, but his words were laced with bitterness.

                "Three more months." Irving whispered to him as they could hear the armor of a Templar starting to come down the stairs.

                "We best hurry." Anders said seriously to Elissa. "Cullen doesn't respond well to anyone accessing the Fade these days." Elissa stepped up to the bars and Anders placed a hand on her forehead and shoulder. He began casting a healing spell. His magic felt different from Solona, more gentle and soothing. He pulled back and gave her a strange look. "You're a templar?" He asked questioning his finding.

                She shook her head. "Just learning the skills."

                "Odd... I've never seen a sickness like yours before." He said carefully. "It's almost as if your body has been introduced to several diseases at once and is fighting back."

                Elissa froze in fear. "Blight sickness?"

                Anders eyes widened but he quickly shook his head. "No, not blight sickness, close to it but very different. Almost like a weakened form of it, but your body was putting up quite the fight. I just helped push it along so it will fight it off next time much better, and got rid of your headache and soothed the nerves making you nauseous at the moment. You might feel achy and nauseated for a few days but it's better to allow this to run its course than to heal it completely. If I did, next time it could be even worse." He smirked at her once more. "And you're not pregnant." He added giving her a wink once more. Elissa's eyes widened in astonishment. She wasn't aware he'd learn so much about her from the simple spell.

                "Hey, step away from the cage." Yelled Cullen a he came in sight of the two talking to Anders.

                "It's alright Cullen. Greagoir approved Anders using his magic to heal the Teyrnessa." Irving said in a soothing manner.

                Cullen looked confused as he recognized Elissa. "I thought you were Warden-Commander?"

                She smiled. "It was a temporary battlefield appointment. Sole is the Warden-Commander of Ferelden now." Anders watched in fascination as Cullen first looked murderous and then confused.

                "Solona is Warden-Commander? But she's only seventeen!" He said slowly. "And a mage."

                Elissa shrugged, unconcerned about her age or her status as a mage. "Alistair made the call, and as senior Warden of Ferelden it was his choice. Besides as a Warden she isn’t a mage anymore, she's a Warden period." She turned back to Anders. "We did come down to ask about the demon in the cat. We ran into another one in Honnleath." Cullen startled at the name of the village but kept quiet. Anders in turn looked surprised.

                "There isn't much I can tell you... The cat was possessed by a rage demon. I wasn't the only mage locked down here that week." He admitted. "Further down was one of Uldred's senior apprentices' that had been sentenced to a week in the cells. Ser Wiggums went to visit him and when he came back he attacked the Templars that were here. He'd been turned into a rage abomination."

                Elissa was trying not to laugh at the name he'd given the cat. Irving however looked thoughtful. "So it was a forced possession." Elissa nodded slowly. "It seemed that way to Solona as well. The desire demon she'd found had been locked in a cellar by an apostate about thirty years before, even called itself Kitty."

                "What about the Templars in the tower?" Irving asked her. "Was there any indication about what happened to them?"

                "It was the same according to Cara." She told him. "She said the mages were being forced to perform blood magic or they too were being forced into becoming abominations. But the Templars in the tower didn't change..."

                Anders stared at her doubtfully. "You know an awful lot about possession for a non-mage who says she isn't a templar."

                Elissa laughed and winked at him. "I'm engaged to an ex-templar."

                "That will do it." He muttered but smiled at her. "Too bad." He said as he looked her over one last time before they said their goodbyes and left.

                 Cullen was following close behind. Elissa stopped him just before they left basement. "Your family is safe." She told him.

                Cullen looked extremely relieved. "Thank you I didn't want to ask... I'd heard the village fell, but nothing about who escaped."

                She smiled at him. "Alistair spoke to your sister, he'd have more news for you." Cullen excused himself and quickly left to find him.

                Irving waited until he was gone before beckoning her to follow him. They went to his study. Once inside she waited until they were both seated. "That was a nice thing you did for Cullen."

                Elissa smiled and waved his praise away. "It was the least we could do. He's been through too much for an eighteen-year-old man. He needed some good news to focus on, family is always a good thing to care for."

                Irving folded his hands and nodded. "You said a few things I would like to caution you on."

                "Such as?"

                "Changed abominations... because of what we are about to attempt I can understand why you know the difference. I'm just surprised Greagoir never noticed." He said quietly.

                Elissa sat comfortably back in her chair with her ankles crossed. "Have you noticed the color of the Knight-Commander's eyes in the past few weeks?"

                Irving's eyes widened in shock, he had noticed that the Knight-Commanders eyes were blue instead of brown recently. "You know about the lyrium as well." He shook his head. "You are amassing a great deal of knowledge the Order and the Chantry does not want made public knowledge."

                "Especially someone they can't assassinate?" She asked playfully. "I am aware. I also have a Antivan Crow as a bodyguard at present."

                Irving was quiet for a moment. "How long do you plan to take the lyrium?"

                Elissa gave him an evil smile. "I don't take lyrium," She paused as the implications of what she had just said settled in his mind. "And my future husband never has either." Irving's mouth dropped open.

                "Have you told anyone else?" He gasped. Elissa shook her head. "And if I were you, I'd never breathe a word of it either." He quickly shook his head.

                Somehow Elissa and Alistair had managed to avoid each other until it was time to leave the next morning. With the amount of riders, it was easy for them both to avoid one another all the way until they arrived back at Redcliffe.

 

                Things had been quiet for the group left behind to look over Conner and the demon. To avoid the demon becoming resistant to the magic of any one mage, all three were taking turns casting sleep spells on Conner to keep the demon sedated. Jowan was sequestered in a room with Shale at night, and Sole during the day for company. Sole and Jowan had discussed his future. He was open to becoming a Grey Warden researcher at Soldier's Peak. He’d be helping Cara build up the base and helping to look into blight magic without practicing blood magic ever again. All that hinged on whether the Arl survived or not. Solona couldn't risk losing the support she and Elissa had, even for her best friend. He had understood.

                It was also discussed and decided that Solona would be the best fit for going into the Fade to battle the demon. She was the strongest and had the most recent experience. It was also decided that she would ask Alistair to watch over her when she was under. After what happened at the Circle she wasn't sure she would trust any other templar to not jump at the chance to kill her.

                With Elissa, Rory and Alistair gone and the day being as long as it had been, plus the long night before, the party had headed to their rooms or posts fairly quickly after dinner. The exception had been Solona who's Warden appetite had caught up with her, and Teagan who was staying in part to avoid Isolde, but largely in part because he was enjoying the company.

                Solona was everything he'd enjoyed about being young, watching her and talking with her made him realize how long it had been since he didn't have responsibilities to take him away from roaming Ferelden the way she and her wardens were. She was funny, beautiful, and if she hadn't been a mage, a noble to boot.

                Being nearly forty without an actual heir of his own was beginning to wear on him. He knew he was going to need to start seriously looking for a wife sometime in the future, but that wife was going to have to be a little older than Solona seemed to be. She couldn't be more than in her early twenties. Still watching her eat was almost a sinful pleasure.

                She was using her tongue in erotic ways to lick the juice from the fruit off her fingers. He was already hard enough that he'd needed to palm his erection several times to get more comfortable. She'd asked a few questions about Rainsfaire and Redcliffe, keeping the conversation going, and she actually seemed interested in his answers. She'd even asked about his family beyond Eamon, Isolde and Conner. She'd raised a brow and smirked when he told her that he wasn't married.

                She was just finishing her glass of wine before she turned to look directly at him. He almost gasped at the look in her eyes. There was a fire, and heat in them that screamed pure lust at him. He was suddenly painfully reminded they were alone in the dining hall. She's too young to seriously be interested, he reminded himself.

                "Thank you for dinner, milord." She said. Her tone was casual but for some reason the sound was making his cock ache and twitch with lust.

                "I'm glad you enjoyed it." He managed to also sound casual, one of the benefits of so much experience was being able to hide the desire. "It was the least we could do for you after all you've done for us."

                She sat back and sighed contently. "Can I ask you a fairly personal question?" Her posture was deceptively innocent, like she was about to ask a question that she wasn't sure she should, but really wanted to know.

                He raised a brow invitingly but gestured for her to ask. "You may, but I might not answer." He couldn't help but be coy in answering.

                She smirked as if his answer was what she was hoping for. "How much do you hate the whining clinging over-bred bitch upstairs?" She asked him, using her cousin's favorite insult to describe his sister-in-law.

                He couldn't help but throw his head back in laughter. "I don't hate her at all." He said lightly. He leaned forward as if he was about to impart a secret and gave her an evil alluring smile. "I loathe the _over-bred_ bitch." He loved the insult, it was so Ferelden and fitting for the Orlesian pampered brat.

                It was Solona's turn to laugh. "I thought so." She said with half-lidded eyes. She was looking very pleased with herself and he had to know why.

                "Why did you ask?" He asked, pretending to be casual.

                She bit her lip and looked up at him from beneath her full eyelashes. His breath caught in his throat as he pictured her looking up at him from her knees with her mouth wrapped around his hard cock. "She seems awful possessive of you, especially for a married woman." She said, as she leaned forward and placed her crossed arms on the table.

                He met her eyes. There seemed to be a challenge in them. "What are you thinking Little Girl?" He asked suggestively, purposefully using those words in part to remind himself she was too young and as a warning to her she was stepping very close to a line she shouldn't cross.

                She snorted at the comment and returned his devilish smile with a purely innocent looking one, but her voice was dripping in pure sin as she said, "I was hoping that you're not _too old_ for a balls-to-the-wall fuck fest that _will_ last all night."

                Teagan couldn't help but gasp at the words. The images flooded his mind of all the things he wanted to do to her, and his cock throbbed harder in his pants reminding him to say something. "Oh I'm not too old Little Girl, but you are playing with fire. You have no idea what I'll do with you."

                She laughed with an excitement that was electrifying. "As long as you make me scream loud enough and often enough, I don't care what you do. Sex is a game in the Circle, and I have been playing it for a while now."

                Teagan didn't make a conscious decision to accept her challenge. He suddenly found himself on his feet and pulling her from her seat on the bench. He yanked her into a rough kiss, his hands instantly going to her hair, yanking her head back so he could dominate her. His height of six feet making it easy to surround and overpower her small five foot six frame. The kiss was all about domination and she readily submitted to him, eagerly sucking on his tongue. He growled deeply in his chest and pulled back forcefully.

                "Last chance to back out Little Girl." He snarled at her with desire. Her reactions were completely natural, a natural submissive partner. He wanted her now, in his room, on this table and if she didn't stop looking at him like that, that is exactly what was going to happen. He stepped back aggressively.

                She met his gaze challenging him again. "Your room or mine?" She smirked as if she knew he'd choose his own room.

                He grabbed her arm and began dragging her towards the stairs for the Family Wing, he had his own rooms down the hall from Conner and Isolde. With Conner being kept sedated he wouldn't have to worry about anyone interrupting them, except Isolde and he was half-hoping she would so he could show her what a real woman looked like while she was being fucked and enjoying it.

                Solona gave no resistance as he dragged her quickly and a little forcefully past the guards at the foot of the stairs and past the dark-haired amber eyed mage who was watching over Conner that night and the stone golem who watched them pass by. He never acknowledged either but he saw Solona wave to the mage who was shaking her head and laughing softly.

                He opened his door and slammed it shut with his foot before he threw her up against it. Once more the two began kissing. He loved the moans she made as he pulled her hair back. There was no light touching, it was all tearing at each other, removing shirts and pants while dragging nails and leaving little bite marks all over each other. When she bit his neck he stepped back and dragged her almost naked body over towards his desk since it was closer than the bed. He lifted her up and placed her on the top of the desk and wrapped his hand around her ponytail at the base keeping her head still. He once more smirked at her as he ran his free hand down her body and into her smalls.

                She was panting and giving him that innocent wanting look that made him want to throw her down and take her hard and fast, fucking the innocence right out of her. He pushed that that thought away and moved his hand over her breasts and nipples, pinching and rubbing them both just enough to make them pucker into perfect rosebuds and draw a little gasp from her. She was certainly a responsive little thing. He wiped the little bit of the wetness from her slit over each nipple and then lowering his hand down to pull the smalls down her legs, as he leaned down he blew on each nipple making them even harder as his cold breath flowed over the wet peaks.

                He let her wet smalls slide down over her ankles as he once again went to work on making her moan with small bites and licks up her thighs all the while never letting go of her hair. The long ponytail working nicely to keep Solona were he wanted her. He slid further up skipping her slit entirely as he latched his teeth and lips around each nipple tasting her from those tight peaks instead. Solona moaned wantonly and shifted her hips silently asking for more intimate touches.

                He chuckled darkly. "If you want relief... do it yourself." He told her, standing up so he was directly in front of her daring her with his eyes to move her hand. She hesitantly moved her hand until it was sliding slowly down into her curls. He took a small step back so he could watch her as she placed her fingertips to her clit, moaning deeply as she began to pleasure herself.

                Teagan watched her give herself a few teasing swirls of her fingers before she dipped her hand lower to wet her fingers and bring it back up to the little button of nerves. Her groan was much louder this time, and it shot right to his own groin. He continued to watch her as her breathing got choppier and sharper, and when her eyes fluttered shut he decided to stop her. He yanked back on her ponytail and growled in her ear. "Stop."

                Solona moaned and gave one last swirl before she obeyed and removed her hand. "Good Girl." He whispered in her ear. "Now, get your wet cunt off my desk before you make a mess and get on your knees." He ordered.

                She cried out softly with lust at his words and he inwardly marveled at her responsiveness. She was quick to slide off the desk and moved down to her knees in front of him sliding her hands down from his shoulders to his waist, and her breasts with those still hardened points slide down his stomach and legs until she was sitting on her knees in front of him with her head held back by his grip on her hair. How he loved her hair, the milk chocolate brown was soft like spun silk and just as strong as thick corded rope around his wrist.

                "You want me to fuck you darling?" He asked darkly.

                She looked up at him with a longing look. "Yes, please... I really want it." She said breathlessly. Her stare was scorching with lust.

                "Prove it." He ordered.

                "Any way I want?" She asked with a spark of challenge in her eyes once more.

                He raised a brow, he was slightly intrigued by what she had in mind. "As long as you stay on your knees I'll allow you some leeway." He offered. "But I want those lips of your wrapped around my cock at some point very shortly."

                She shivered once more with desire and leaned forward to run her tongue along the seam of his smalls up to the front edge where she took the fabric by her teeth and slowly dragged them down his thighs. She lightly blew her breath over his cock as she slowly unwrapped it. Once she had lowered them as far as she could with his grip on her hair she used her hands to push them the rest of the way down. He was looking at her face so he missed her wetting her fingers with her natural lubricants, but when her wet finger began playing with his ass, she looked up suggestively, and ran her tongue flat upwards from his ball sac to the tip of his cock had him hissing with pleasure.

                "Done this before have you Little Girl?" He asked hissing again as she rubbed a little harder at the small hole.

                Her answer was a little smile before she slowly took the tip of his cock in her mouth and her finger rubbing his ass became warmer and the hole felt wetter. The sensation was sinfully delightful. It had been a very long time since he'd had a lover who knew how to play properly, and he was willing to see how well she could play before he tried to take her. He gave her hair a little more give to allow her to move her head over his cock. "You still haven't proven you want me to fuck you."

                Solona's eyes flashed with acceptance of his challenge and she slowly began to take his cock into her mouth, and at the same time he felt her push one of her fingers inside him from behind. He hissed at the warmth over his cock and the coldness of her finger entering the heated passage. He knew for certain she knew what she was doing when she curled her finger and pressed down on the spot in his ass that made his dick swell even more and start a sensation of almost an itch that was being scratched, but felt much too good to be that feeling in his ass and cock.

                She didn't pause as his cock met the back of her throat she just quickly swallowed and he was suddenly buried to the hilt in her mouth. Even still her finger in his ass made him buck his hips forward trying to get even deeper inside her. Now he was the one panting. He'd wanted to tease each other and play for a while before getting to the sex, but her mouth and talented little finger trick was quickly bringing him to a point of no return, and unlike the little warden he didn't have unlimited stamina. She began moving his cock back and forth in her mouth allowing herself to breathe through her nose and still rubbing in his ass.

                He groaned loudly and grabbed her hair tightly pulling her off his dick. "If you want a full on fucking, you are going to have to pace yourself darling."

                She gave him an evil smirk ass he pulled her mouth off his cock making it slap against his lower abs. "I'm a healer Teagan." She reminded him. "I can have you feeling as if you were eighteen again with a simple spell." He stared down at her in surprise. He forgotten she could do that.

                She took advantage of his momentary lack of focus to suck his cock back deeply into her throat while her other hand that had been helping to keep his cheeks open moved down to cup his balls with her fingertips.

                With that reminder of her skills and talents Teagan let her do as she liked. He was too close now to really give a shit what was going to happen after this orgasm anyway, because it was building up to be the best one he'd had in years. Her fingers were playing him so skillfully he was ready to flood her throat in only moments. He laid his hand flat on the back of her head and began guiding her to move faster, he didn't want to be the one thrusting and taking the chance of moving those fingers from their spot, he had been so distracted by how good it felt he hadn't registered the second finger in his ass until just then. He was so enjoying the moment and growling so loud that he almost didn't have time to warn her.

                She pulled her mouth back slightly but pushed down harder on the spot in his ass. With a roar he flooded her mouth and despite swallowing as fast as she could, semen still escaped from her mouth and ran down her chin. It was the longest orgasm he'd had in some time and he was very glad he could reach out a grab the top of his desk to stop himself from falling down.

                He could feel his cock starting to soften as she pulled back her head, but her fingers in his ass warmed and he felt a rush of energy flood his ass and cock before spreading out to the rest of him, it was almost the same feeling of having someone come inside him and it thoroughly coated him inside. The shock caused him to jump and she pulled her fingers from his ass at that moment, and stood up looking at him with a lustful look on her face.

                "Did I prove myself milord?" She asked innocently.

                He could only stare at her with a blank look for a moment before he regained his senses. With a mental shake not to let her gain an inch of control he decided to do something he hadn't done in ages. He grabbed her by her neck and pulled her towards him, his hand was tight, but not so much that it restricted her breathing at all, but it did make her eyes go wide with excitement and a hint of fear.

                "Oh, I think you know you did." He said with a chuckle. His cock was hard, but not as hard as it had been a few moments ago. "I believe you wanted balls-to-the-wall fucking. I have a better idea."

                He turned her around and kept his hand on her throat as he wrapped her glorious hair around her neck before removing his hand and then he pushed her down on the desk. He grabbed her hair like a rein smiled down at the prone girl. "Spread those legs of yours." He ordered harshly.

                Solona didn't hesitant, standing on her tiptoes she had her legs open wide. Anyone walking into the room was going to get a good look at her straining to keep her ass in the air so she could lay flush on the desktop. He loved seeing her spread out over his correspondence and other paperwork. He petted her back and for the first time noticed the whip mark on her back. He scowled at it but kept his mind in the game, making a note to ask about it later.

                He came up behind her and rubbed his cock along her slit. "I'm going to fuck you, but you are going to do one thing for me."

                "Anything." She panted, and was moaning softly and that just wasn't going to do.

                He leaned forward so he could whisper in her ear. "I want you to scream when you come." He told her. He licked her ear and bit at it softly as she processed his demand. "I want the whole fucking castle to hear you. You understand me darling?" He paused as she nodded. "I want that mage down the hall... the golem... the guards at the bottom of the stairs... and I want Isolde in her room to have no doubt what I am doing to you with you spread out over my desk."

                She gasped but nodded. He couldn't help but chuckle as he began to slide into her. "Such a good..." The heat and tightness of her surprised him. "Oh, such a sweet tight little thing, aren't you darling."

                She moaned much louder than before. "Been a long while... Oh fuck that feels good... Last lover was Elven." He smiled at that last bit of information. Elven cocks were longer than humans, but slender, certainly explained why she was as tight as a virgin.

                He slowly slid his way all the way in and then spread her ass cheeks to get that last little bit closer. Her deep loud moan as he brushed her clit with his fingers was all the encouragement he needed to pull back till he was nearly out before sharply and as hard as he could he shoved back in.

                "FUCK!" ripped from her throat was wanton and so arousing he did it again. "OH FUCK YES!" She cried out again. He grabbed her hair tightly lifting her up just a little to make her arch her back letting him slide that extra quarter inch inside her before he really started to just give her the fucking she'd asked for. He loved watching as his cock slid inside her and the feeling was better than usual because she was so tight.

                He was so enjoying the feeling he wasn't paying any attention to anything but making her scream. When she let out a "FUCK TEAGAN!" He nearly roared with pleasure himself. He certainly shouted out some of his energy, but he could feel this one slowly building in him, taking longer to come. He felt her come apart under him screaming his name he didn't think he would be finished for a while, and he was really looking forward to trying something else with the little warden mage. He rode her for a few more strokes, waiting for her body to stop milking at his cock.

                He abruptly pulled out of her and released her hair. She had lowered herself back onto the desk and was gasping for air looking a little boneless. He leaned over her and pressed his hard cock against her ass as his mouth sot her ear. "After all that talk of warden stamina, and your little spell, you don't think we're done, do you Little Girl?" He bit her ear a little harder than before, enticing a yelp from her.

                "You're not done?" She asked a bit surprised, from the way he'd yelled she'd obviously thought he'd finished.

                He chuckled, "Not by a long shot my dear." He hissed in her ear, licking the shell with a hardened tip of his tongue. " Now get your ass on the bed by the bed posts and wait for me." He ordered. He backed away and slapped her ass hard, making her squeak adorably and jump to obey him. He looked at her now very enticing ass with his hand print firmly outlined in red against her lily white skin. When she was on the bed he came over and grabbed some hidden silk ropes that were hanging from the bedposts and brought them down and held them in his hands.

                "Face the door and stand on your knees." He whispered once more, adding a look of pure smug desire. He knew now that she'd instantly obey him. She hadn't fought him at all tonight. It was intoxicating having this much power over her. Standing in front of her he let her see what he was doing. He tied a slipknot in each rope and had her place her hand through the loops. He tightened them until her arms were loose but hanging from the wide posts. He then brought the two end in front of her and tied them together so the slipknots would only be loosened by him.

                He was very happy with the way she looked. Her pert breasts were on display for anyone walking in to see. Her curls were very damp and dripping her own juices down her thighs. She was as turned on by his dominant play as he was, maybe even more so. And she had been so good that he decided she'd earned a reward.

                He walked up the end of the bed so he could touch her body, he ran his hands down her chest and pinched her nipples once more and leaning in to suck and kiss her neck. "You've been such a good Little Girl." He cooed to her. Solona couldn't help but moan and gasp at the praise. "Yes, such a Good Girl." He praised her again loving the way she rubbed her body against his with each bit of positive reinforcement he was giving her. "I'll give you one thing now as a reward for doing so well." He told her as he nipped her collarbone and moved a little lower. "Name it and I'll do it for you."

                She seemed surprised but pleased. Hanging from the ropes she looked like an ancient virgin sacrifice to a dragon staked out for it to come a pick her up. She seemed to be thinking his offer over carefully. "I don't know, can't think." She moaned as she pulled lightly at the ropes making the knots a little tighter. She seemed to really like the feeling of the silk, he watched as she ran her fingertips over the soft cords.

                Teagan smiled and continued to run his fingers over her very athletic body. He couldn't get over how wonderful she looked with her white skin and her dark hair, pulling it forward he laid it over her breasts hiding them from view. "Well you think on it, and I'll continue to play." He hummed as she nodded eagerly.

                He walked out of her sight to climb on the bed, but first he reached into the drawer and took out a vial of oil he normally used for self-gratification while in Redcliffe. Before tonight he couldn't think of the last time he'd fucked anyone in the Castle. Isolde had all the servants hide once dinner was over so he couldn't entice one to his room. Thinking of her made Teagan want to make it impossible for the bitch to not hear them, but he had other things to think of first. He took the oil and palmed some of it before he rubbed it on his cock. He was so hard he moaned as he applied the oil making Solona turned her head enough to see him. He eyes widened as what he planned became evident. Her chest was heaving harder.

                "Oh Maker, you're going to..." She gasped as he once more stroked himself making the cock in his hand slippery.

                He raised a brow at her. "I can fuck your cunt if you object?" He said evenly. He hadn't needed to ask if she was ok with anything so far this evening, she'd been so willing. She looked a little apprehensive now and that just wouldn't do.

                "I've been told this hurts..." She trailed off.

                He chuckled as the reason for her objection became obvious. Oh how the thought turned him on even more than earlier. He moved so he was right behind her and rubbed his cock against her ass, sliding between the cheeks and rubbing outside the hole. She looked half-startled as she let out a long moan from deep within her at the feeling coursing through her.

                "Whoever told you that wasn't exactly lying. It could hurt with someone who doesn't know what they are doing." He kissed her neck softly and then bit hard enough to leave a mark while one of his hands rubbed her clit softly and the other pinched her nipple. She cried out in a mix of pain and pleasure. "I've been topping men and woman for longer than you've been alive Little Girl." He purred in her ear, making her moan again and she leaned back into his body, showing him how much she trusted him to take care of her. "It's all about the prep and the angle." He explained gently, while he'd love to rut her ass, taking her virginity here was just about as arousing as anything else she'd done this evening and he was willing to take it as slow as she wanted, at least at first.

                She relaxed into his body as he caressed her clit and breast, making her sigh with longing. "I trust you." She finally whispered.

                He gave her a tender kiss, the first one they'd shared that wasn't passion filled. It was sweet and very nice but not what he wanted right now. He took the bottle of oil and poured some more over his hand. "I'm going to do what you did for me earlier." He explained to her. When she nodded he took the oil filled hand and rubbed the oil into the little pink hole, she was tightened up, tense. He chuckled and bit her shoulder lightly. "Relax Little Girl. By the time I'm done with your ass you'll be begging for more."

                She looked a little concerned but he could feel her body relaxing. He watched her close her eyes and could feel her extending her will allowing the pucker to relax in waves against his fingers. He pressed a little harder with each wave and after the third one his finger slipped inside. She was scorching hot inside and he bit his lip to hold back a groan at how good it was going to feel. As good as her cunt had felt he knew her ass was going to be even better, tighter, gripping him.

                He paid attention to the noises she was making and he smiled evilly hearing her soft moans. She was liking it, even though she'd been warned against it. He lightly pressed the second finger near the hole and waited for her to move along with his soft thrusts. She actually pressed back far enough to take both fingers in herself. He was very happy to feel her ass relaxing even more as she felt the pleasure and not the pain. He was careful for several minutes getting her get used to two fingers, working them inside her making her feel even more pleasure, but keeping her distracted by reaching around with this other hand to massage her breast and sucking on her neck and shoulder.

                "I'll bet you wish you could rub your cunt right about now." He whispered. She whimpered and he felt a surge of power once more, this dominating game was what he missed most about fucking in recent years. Brothels that would allow it didn't have the same amount of satisfaction that he was getting right now. Solona was powerful in several ways, and watching her submit was so stimulating. The added bonus of breaking her in was also intoxicating.

                "Oh Maker yes..." She moaned softly. "It's aching."

                "Take three fingers and I'll rub it for you." He whispered encouragingly. She gasped and thrust her ass back against his hand urgently. He laughed in her ear. "Such a wanton little thing." He pressed that third finger into her ass and felt her wince and hiss for the first time. The stretch was getting to her, but she was almost ready. He slid his hand into her curls and lightly strummed the clit with the tips of his fingers. She was so wet now that he could have wet her ass with her own juices and she'd still be wet enough to fuck her until she passed out.

                She was in the zone of pain and pleasure. She wanted more and she wasn't sure yet how to get it. She also seemed unsure if she wanted his fingers deeper in her ass or his fingers in her cunt. It was perfect, she was ready. He took his cock and gave it a good couple of strokes to re-stimulate it to be hard enough to slide in. He didn't warn her he just pulled out his fingers and replaced it with the crown of his cock.

                She froze up or at least tried to but he pinched her clit making her cry out and jerk back towards him, making her take a little more of his cock inside her. He stilled her and shh’ed her. "Relax, I'm not going to rut you." He told her, at least not yet he wasn't. Maker, her ass was better than he'd imagined. So hot... so tight, almost too tight. He poured more of the oil on his cock and her opening. Just staring down at them was making him swell thicker. He pushed a little farther in, now halfway he began to slowly rock back and forth. She was gasping in both pain and pleasure.

                "That's it Little Girl." He moaned in her ear. "Take my cock." Her moans got louder when he spoke, and he gave himself a pat on the back to realize he had another weapon to use against her. She loved to hear him talk dirty to her. "You're liking this aren't you?" He asked her suggestively as he thrust back in halfway.

                "Oh yes, I didn't think I would, but yes." She cried out almost sobbing.

                "Such a dirty Little Girl." He moaned sinking a little deeper with his next thrust. "Enjoying the cock of an older man."

                She gasped and moaned deeper as he kept thrusting short soft thrusts still breaking her in. "Only ever had older men." She panted.

                He took her words to be challenge and thrust harder seating himself all the way inside her. "But I'm the only one to fuck you here." He snarled as he spanked her ass cheek.

                She cried out louder. "Yes Teagan, you're the only one."

                He loved the feeling of being in her virgin ass. It was such a rush being the first one to take someone. "Can you feel every inch of my cock?"

                "Oh yes, Teagan yes." She cried almost a sob for want and a little pain. He rewarded her with a finger sliding inside her slit. He took a long stroke pulling out and watching his cock glistened with oil as it came out and then he had to fight back the urge to slam into her the way he had earlier when she was over his desk. Instead he slowly slid back into her using both hands to spread her ass cheeks to watch his progress.

                "Your ass looks so good taking my cock." He told her. "Such a good fucking sight." He told her, He pulled out a little faster this time, trying to gauge just how fast he could go. "Such a Good Girl."

                She quickly thrusted her ass back making him thrust in harder than he'd intended and the sensation of going faster and harder was overwhelming. He took several quick hard thrusts before he remembered he was supposed to be taking it slower. "That felt so good Little Girl." He moaned and bit her shoulder hard, making her cry out. "Are you ready for me to really take your ass?" He asked her starting the thrust faster regardless of her answer.

                "Yes, it feels so different... but so good." She cried out, she was yanking on the ropes now trying to do move closer. He stopped and moved his cock so he was barely seated inside her

                He chuckled and watched her struggle with the ropes. "Keep moving and I'll stop for the night."

                She froze, going perfectly still. He held her hips steady as he took her ass as hard as he could. She nearly screamed, only his hand over her mouth stopped it from being too loud. "Not yeah Darling. When I want you to scream I'll tell you to scream." She nodded, wiggling her ass to get him to move. "My, my, my, someone really likes her ass being used doesn't she." She just nodded her head and he slowly removed his hand from her mouth. "Then hold on to those ropes Little Girl. I'm going to ride your ass until I come." With that he began to really ride her, watching himself slide in and out was enough to make him come to the brink quickly and he came with a roar. He could tell she'd had a small orgasm too but not a very satisfying one. He's hoped for that which is why he'd stopped playing with her clit. He knew if she was still wanting she'd help him go for one more round.

                He took his time cleaning her up first before he let her arms down and allowed her to lay back on the bed. She still looked as aroused as she had when they arrived in the room, maybe even more so now that she was still riding high from the endorphins the pain he'd inflicted on her anally had released. Even with the prep he'd done she was going to feel that thrashing for days.

                Feeling like a powerful bastard he laid back on the bed with his hands behind his head looking for all the world as if he was about to relax enough to sleep.

                Solona slide her body up his until she was face to face with him. "I know what I want my reward to be." She said shyly. Teagan was intrigued once more by the girl, she'd been a wanton sex kitten all night and now she was being shy?

                "And what would that be?"

                "I want to swallow your cock while you suck on my cunt." She said blushing while using the words to describe what she wanted.

                He raised a brow. "I am not likely to be ready for a while.

                She rolled her eyes. "I have a very talented tongue." She said teasing him.

                He nodded. "I did promise a reward for you being such a Good Girl."

                "And I want to be loud." She told him.

                He laughed and nodded. "As loud as you want Darling."

                Her smile was huge as she moved away from him to settle herself over top of him. It took no time at all for her to cast the spell to help him recover through her fucking tongue. He spent his time trying to concentrate on fingering both her cunt and ass while licking at her clit. He was delighted with the way she was humming her pleasure around his cock and every so often she raised her head to scream.

                "Oh FUCK... YES." She cried out as his cock slide from her lips, her head thrown back. "That's so FUCK!"    She was loving every second of it and he was enjoying her talented little mouth when she managed to keep his revived cock in her throat. He could feel her getting closer as her humming increased in pitch.

                He was so focused on the task of feasting on her cunt he failed to hear the door to the room open, until he heard a scream of horror and a voice crying out. "Teagan! What are you doing with that woman?" Isolde's voice cracked through the air like a whip.

                Teagan sat up and pushed Solona's ass to his lap from his face. Her cunt was so wet it left a slick trail down his chest. With both of them facing Isolde and he lifted Solona's hips just enough to angle her so he could slide deep into her slit, causing both of them to moan loudly before he could answer the bitch. "It's calling fucking Isolde." He lifted Solona's a little and let her drop back down on him, she got the hint and started to ride him. Isolde was getting a full on view of his cock sliding in and out of the mage while his fingers slid into her ass shallowly.

                He couldn't see Solona's face but when she threw her head back and cried out he couldn't help but get a wave of sinful pleasure from the look of devastation in Isolde's harpy-like features. "Oh fuck Solona that's perfect." He refocused his attention on Isolde. "This is how a real woman likes to be pleasured, fucking enjoying every second of it, in every way!" He said snidely to Isolde as he lifted Solona slightly by his fingers in her backside, drawing Isolde's gaze towards it. Watching her watch them in horror knowing she was seeing a beautiful very young girl riding him was the ultimate power trip of the night. He bucked up into Solona hard. He felt so dirty fucking her while being watched, and he was loving every fucking second of it.

                "Oh Maker! Teagan I'm going to fucking come!" Solona cried out as she rode him hard. He could feel her fingers circling her clit frantically.

                Teagan laughed with dark delight. Isolde was frozen in place unable to move while he laid back and watched as Solona shattered above him. "TEAGAN OH... FUCK, FUCK, FUCK!" Solona slammed herself down hard with each word as she screamed. Her hands were massaging both her clit and his balls, but it was far too soon for him to come yet again. he felt her squirt her juice all over not just his cock and balls but all over his inner thighs too. He laughed again. His Dirty Little Girl had come so fucking hard, and the best part was Isolde had watched it. When Solona fell back limply against his chest Isolde finally seemed to unfreeze and with a scream that was likely to bring the guards running she turned, and fled his room. In her haste she left the door wide open.

                Solona suddenly started giggling nearly making him pop out of her slit. "That was better than I imagined when I set out to seduce you."

                Teagan sat up and looked down at her grinning. "When you planned... Were you hoping to get her to see us?"

                Solona laughed. "Of course. Like I said I wanted a balls-to-the-wall fuck fest, and her walking in, that was an added bonus."

                He raised a brow. "And are you happy with your balls-to-the-wall fuck fest?"

                She smiled and nodded contently. "And then some." She admitted once more blushing a delightful pink.

                He pushed her off him and on to her back and once more slide inside her. "Oh but we're not done." He reminded her. "You renewed my energy and so you have to pay the consequences." He ordered her.

                "Yes Serah." She said with a coy look. "How do you want me?"

                He chuckled evilly and smirked down at the little mage once more. "Since she left the door open... Loud!" He proceeded to lift her legs over his shoulders and begin to fuck her hard. Nearly a half hour later and several positions meant to show off her flexibility and athleticism to anybody who decided to stop and watch, she moaned and screamed through several peaks and he roared as his own final stream of semen coated her.

                Both were sweaty, tired, and finally sated. "That was so worth whatever she's going to do tomorrow for revenge." He chuckled. Maker he'd never felt so tired before in his life.

                "She won't do anything." She sighed as she curled up under his arm. "She'll be too afraid of me by breakfast." She promised as she lifted the sheet to cover them finally. She looked at the door and gave it a little push with her magic to close it.

                Teagan looked down at her and almost cried with mirth. "You could have done that after she left."

                She shrugged. "By then the guards wouldn't have enjoyed the show, and she wouldn't have heard it all so clearly."

                He shook his head. "You really are evil." He sighed happily.

                "You have no idea." She whispered. She had her own plans for the rest of their stay and each one involved purging her libido and making Isolde miserable. Isolde was going to regret every little thing she'd ever done to Alistair by the time Solona left Redcliffe, and the fact that Teagan was so good in bed was going to make it that much more pleasurable for her. Over all this was her best plan yet. She killed two birds with a few good fuck fests. Definably a win-win, as long as Alistair didn't find out in part why she was doing this. Somehow she thought he'd disapprove of her style of revenge for Isolde’s actions against him.

 

 

                Alistair arrived completely separately from Elissa, and then Rory also came in away from both of them. Wynne knew something had happened, and because she hadn't had a chance to talk to Elissa privately since the confrontation months before, she decided it would be best if she talked to her first, before Alistair.

It was decided to conduct the ceremony in the morning since that way everyone would be well rested. When Alistair requested a separate room for himself Teagan pulled him into Eamon's office. Wynne seeing the gulf that existed also took the time to visit Elissa in her room.

                "Care to tell me what happened to make you request your own room Alistair?" Teagan asked him with concern.

                Alistair looked embarrassed and paced in front of the fireplace. "If we take Jowan with us that will be three blood mages... granted one is over two hundred years old and not Elissa's fault, but the other two would be..." He began to rant.

                Teagan sat back stunned. A two-hundred-year-old Blood Mage? Other Blood Mages? Teagan tuned him out for a few seconds as he tried to process everything.

Alistair continued to ramble. "I know I'm not a templar anymore, not that I ever really was one, and I never wanted to be, but blood magic never ends well for anyone... not the mage, and certainly not for someone it's being cast on, but Elissa almost never seems to get that we shouldn't take the chances that she is taking with them."

                Teagan shook his head to try and focus. He'd missed Alistair's first bit of his rant.

                "Cara was in a kill or be killed situation and I can understand why she did it the one time, but she killed someone. And I don't need to tell you what Jowan did. He claims that Loghain said it was to stop a civil war and to avoid death, but still. It's a little convenient that both blood mages we've come across were only one time users and both don't want to do it again. And then to even suggest using Isolde to fuel the blood magic knowing it will kill her? That was taking things too far don't you think?"

                Teagan sighed. As much as he wanted to bring Jowan to justice for his crime against Eamon, there was bigger issues at stake. He'd spoken to Solona in depth about the topic. He'd been of the opinion that Jowan should be executed for his crimes. She'd spend over three hours explaining in detail what had happened to Jowan and why things had happened. When she was done she told him that she would revoke the conscription if Eamon died, but otherwise she wanted to give him a chance to atone, as Cara was now doing.

                "I don't think you really want to let Elissa go over this do you?" Teagan asked him.

                Alistair stopped dead and turned to Teagan in horror. "Who said anything about letting her go? I never said that!"

                Teagan raised a brow questioning him silently. "Then why did you request separate rooms when she specifically requested a shared room for you both before she left?"

                "I just thought it would be better since that was the arrangement at the tower." He said, still a little stunned at the idea of letting her go.

                Teagan pointed to the chair on the other side of Eamon's desk. "Sit down Alistair. I think it's time someone sat you down and explained a few things to you."

                He spent nearly an hour with Alistair telling him what advice he could about women in general and what little he knew of Elissa Cousland personally. He explaining Solona's explanation about Jowan, and mage life in the Circle. Alistair wasn't sure what to think about his fight with Elissa now with the added context.

                "So you think Elissa is allowing Solona to make the decisions about Jowan is out of respect, not her own personal feelings?" He trailed off, now uncertain of his own position on the matter.

                Teagan sat back and looked very thoughtful. "Alistair let me be blunt... Isolde is a heartless bitch who's only redeeming quality is she loves her son... And she might love Eamon. I'll never be sure of that personally." He paused as Alistair took in what he said. Alistair still looked a bit mulish about the matter so he decided to point out a few facts Alistair was leaving out of his assessment.

                "If Eamon dies, Jowan and Cara both together would have only two deaths on their hands, one each." He pointed out. "Isolde with her actions against the Chantry and Circle has one hundred and seven at last count. There are still people not accounted for."

                Alistair stared at him open mouthed. "I never thought of it that way."

                "Because she's not a mage?" Teagan asked bluntly.

                Suddenly the situation became much more clear to him. With those words he realized why Elissa had been so angry with him. The situation was crystal clear, he'd been acting like a templar, not holding Isolde to the same standard as he was the mages. If there was one thing Elissa would not overlook it was justice for the people Isolde should have been protecting, but failed to even consider. That he in his anger had failed to consider too.

                "I might have been a little harsh in defending Isolde... Just the idea of sacrificing her to blood magic... Leaving Eamon a widower..."

                Teagan chuckled softly. "Elissa might have been the one to said it, but even I was thinking something similar. Neither of us meant it seriously."

                Alistair shook his head. "I am going to need to apologize to her."

                Teagan nodded. "Before you go I have two things that might make it easier."

                Alistair was curious. He waited until Teagan opened the drawer and took out an old locket that had been pieced together lovingly, and an old style band that still looked new. "My mother's locket?" He asked astonished. "But I smashed it!"

                Teagan smiled. "And you have no idea how hard it was to piece back together. Thankfully Eamon had the maid save the pieces." Alistair took the locket back, moving slowly with a dazed look. "It doesn't open any longer, not that there was anything but a lock of your baby hair in it." He smiled. "I left it inside when I used the piece of clay to hold the pieces together before adding the glue and vanish to the outside."

                "You did this?" He asked in awe. Looking closely, he could see the damage he’d done when he’d thrown it against the wall. The workmanship on the repair was good enough that one still had to be very close and know it had been damaged to see the cracks. "I can't thank you enough."

                "As I said, Eamon saved the pieces, but he had no idea what to do it fix it and gave them to me."  
 He explained, not wanting all the credit, they did need Alistair's goodwill to extend to both of them, and Teagan had genuinely liked Alistair as a child, as did Eamon. The man in front of him was not an innocent, but was still very much like the child he had been. The Chantry hadn't killed his spirit. For that he was thankful.

                "The ring was something your father had made for your mother. He couldn't marry her obviously since she wasn’t a noble. She asked for you to have it once you were old enough." He told him.

                The ring was a beautifully crafted engagement band with engraved leaves embedded with deep green emeralds and vines wrapped around golden diamonds. It was perfect for a woman as beautiful as Elissa. On the inside was an inscription, 'I will love you always'.

                Alistair looked questioningly at Teagan. "My mother..." He wasn't sure how to ask about his mother, especially if she'd been an Elven servant.

                Teagan looked sad. "She wanted you to have it." He had never met Alistair's mother. Who she'd been was a very heavily guarded secret with only Eamon and himself still alive in Ferelden who knew, and even he didn't know much. He only knew she had been a foreign Grey Warden and was not allowed to keep Alistair, especially since his father was King Maric. He thought it best to not tell Alistair the truth now that he was happy and with Elissa. The truth could hurt his standing in the Landsmeet, and Eamon had plans to put Alistair forth as King, even with the oaths he'd sworn to become a Grey Warden, and Eamon would be thrilled to find Alistair was with Elissa Cousland, strengthening his claim to the throne.

                "Thank you." Alistair choked out as his emotions got the better of him.

                Teagan smiled, genuinely happy for the man before him. While he would always feel guilty for not doing more for him as a child, he was happy to see the man before him had grown to be a good and kind man.

                Walking into his room after leaving Alistair he was happy to see Solona was once more in his bed waiting for him. She was so beautiful and while she'd been less experienced she was making up for that with her amazing stamina, sexual appetite and her restorative magic. When she left he knew he'd need to sleep a week to recover, but in the meantime he was certainly enjoying their affair. At forty he was much too old for her, but he'd never turned down a beautiful woman before, and it had the added bonus of pissing off Isolde to no end. He chuckled as he closed the door and recalled the look on Isolde's face when she'd walked in on them. The memory always made him very happy.

 

                Wynne caught up to Elissa as she walked into her room and sat heavily down on a chair by the lit fireplace. She could see that both her and Alistair's things had been brought into the room and she was fretting about how he would take the news. They hadn't spoken since the fight on the road, she had wanted to talk to him but she was feeling sick again and had put it off. She could feel the low grade fever making itself known by making her feel chilled to the bone.

                "Are you alright my dear?" Wynne asked her softly.

                Elissa nodded but didn't turn around. "Yes, I am just not feeling well."

                Wynne came forward to look her over. She quickly cast a spell to see the issue and was surprised to find it had already been treated. "Why did the healer not finish curing you?"

                Elissa gave her a tired smile. "Anders said it wasn't advisable to complete the healing, that I needed to fight through this a little on my own."

                Wynne took a second look and could see what it was Anders had done and she approved. "I see, yes, he did the right thing. You are almost over whatever this is."

                Elissa looked at Wynne deeply trying to decide if she should ask her for advice. She motioned for Wynne to take the other seat. "I take it you saw that Alistair and I are not getting along right now."

                Wynne sat and gave her a motherly look. "I did notice. Did you want to talk about it?"

                "He took a comment I made about Isolde too seriously and now... He doesn't trust me anymore." She whispered miserably.

                Wynne smiled. "I can imagine what you might have said. None of it polite." She said kindly and with a touch of humor. Having listened to the noblewoman wailing for three days she had a few words of her own she'd wished she could say to the shallow Arlessa.

                Elissa let out a scornfully laugh. "I'll never have anything good to say about that... woman." She finally said. "She had him beaten, and thrown out of his home, into the cold, and sent away to the Chantry all as an innocent child because of untrue rumors." She whispered through tears. "And still he defends her!"

                Wynne moved forward and took Elissa's icy hands in hers, she began to rub them to help warm and sooth her. "Alistair is a caring man." She reminded her.

                Elissa chuckled softly. "Of that there is no debate." Her face clouded with sorrow and a hint of fear. "I can't believe he is this angry over a single remark made in anger." She looked away with a hint of disappointment and anger. "I can't believe I am letting this get to me so, I am stronger than this."

                Wynne nodded. "It is when we disappoint those we love that we hurt the most child." She reminded her softly. "Surely your parents had such fights?"

                Elissa nodded as a tear fell. "Yes, mother had an awful temper when she wished to. And father would always be ill-tempered when they fought."

                Wynne gave her an encouraging smile. "The trick is to forgive." She said softly. "Alistair is very forgiving, just give him time."

                Elissa nodded. "It's not being forgiven that worries me. He no longer trusts me." Her voice broke as she choked back a sob.

                Wynne didn't believe that for a moment. "Perhaps he said something he did not mean as you did." She replied calmly.

                Elissa shook her head slowly and turned closer to the fire and another shiver ran through her body. "I know he hates blood magic, I'm not fond of it either, but we need allies. We need the people we have collected. Solona thinks Jowan can be of use at the Keep with Cara, he knows more than she does about researching and blood magic theory!"

                Wynne now understood the issue. She took Elissa's other hand and cast a warming spell on her to help combat the chills running through her. "Perhaps I can explain some of the things Alistair would have grown up hearing so maybe you can have a better understanding of his point of view?"

                Elissa looked at her with hope. "Please!"

                Wynne took her time explaining the teachings of the templar recruits. The types of exercises he'd have gone through, the lessons on magic and the constant drumming of how magic outside the Circles was bad, and how blood magic couldn't be tolerated in the slightest. She told her how the recruits often had the idea that rules had to be obeyed always, no exceptions for even simple situations. They were told never to question orders and expected no less from their charges.

                "To be honest, I am amazed he is so even tempered and understanding." She finished. "And his relationship with Solona amazes me even more. I have never seen as stranger pair than those two."

                "Thank you Wynne." Elissa said with an exhausted look. "That was something I needed to hear."

                "I know you need Jowan for the Landsmeet." She said quietly. "And while I don't agree with his choices, I still remember a scared little boy who followed your cousin around like a kicked puppy will follow a protector. He is a good boy. He just was manipulated by a man who was very good at getting others to follow him. Defending him isn't wrong, and giving him a second chance, might actually be more like giving him his first chance to live." She stared deeply into the fire. "I have been lucky. Greagoir knows I will always return to him, so he allows me my little adventures outside the tower. Others don't have that freedom, and like Solona, I often forget that others don't share my good fortune."

                Elissa sighed and sat back inside the blanket Wynne had wrapped around her during their conversation. "I'll try to talk to him as soon as I can. " She looked at the old mage and smiled. "Thank you, I know you don't approve-"

                Wynne shook her head. "I do approve. You love one another, I just hope it's enough after the fighting is over and the politics gets involved. I don't want to see either of you hurt." She told her fondly. She patted Elissa on the shoulder as she passed her on the way to the door. "Get some rest. You should wait for whoever escorts the mages back returns before we leave. It will give you a few days to recover."

                "Thank you Wynne." She said as she rose and began to walk towards the bed. "I think I'll start now."

                Wynne left quietly and walked downstairs. She waited in the hall leading to the rooms waiting for Alistair to make his appearance. When he did a little less than a half hour later Wynne walked to him. "Alistair. You should know Elissa is not feeling well, but she would be happy to see you I should think." She told him encouragingly.

                Alistair's face flashed his concern. "Will she be alright?"

                Wynne gave him a reassuring nodded. "Yes, she is just fighting a little cold. She'll be fine with some rest."

                Alistair nodded. "Are you sure she'd be happy to see me?" He asked bashfully, his eyes downcast. "I was a little... no, a lot out of line the other day and I might have-"

                "Put your foot in your mouth?" She asked with a hint of mirth. "It seems Elissa feels the same way."

                Alistair blushed deeply. "She thinks I put my foot in my mouth too." He said miserably. "Just great."

                Wynne chuckled. "No you misunderstood. She feels she said something wrong too."

                "Oh!" Alistair said clearly surprised by that. "I should go see her."

                Wynne smiled. "She went to bed a little while ago, but it is your room too, and she could use your warmth to help fight off her chill."

                Alistair's blush deepened. "Maker, I don't know what to say right now."

                Wynne smiled fondly. "it will come to you, just be honest."

                Alistair ran up the stairs to their room and opened the door quietly. He could see Elissa sleeping fitfully on the bed, moving and moaning uncomfortably. He quickly removed his armor and his clothes before slipping into the bed behind her. He gathered her closer to him and held her against his chest. She felt warm but she body shivered as their skin touched.

                She roused only long enough to see him. "Alistair." She breathed with a hint of relief before she settled into a deeper, calmer sleep. He held her, happy to have her in his arms once more.

 

                They slept in and didn't have time to talk in depth before they were needed downstairs.

                Alistair pushed her hair behind her ear. She wasn't wearing it in its usual braided ponytail, today it hanging down her back. "I didn't realize it was so long." He said softly as he ran his fingers through it. He watched the silken threads flowed down to her lower back.

                "Mark of a noblewoman." She chuckled. "Long hair and silk dresses." She wrinkled her nose when she mentioned the dresses.

                Alistair chuckled once more before kissing her forehead lovingly. "Mages too." He chuckled before he stopped and placed his head on her shoulder. "I truly am sorry."

                She held onto his shoulders for a moment longer breathing in his scent. She'd missed even that bit of him while they had avoided one another. "I am too, Alistair."

                He pulled back and looked deeply into her warm eyes. "Are you sure you're up to coming down there? You are still quite warm."

                She gave him an adoring look. "Yes, I feel fine. The healers both said it's just a little cold."

                "Ok my love." He sighed resigned to going downstairs when all he really wanted to do was drag her back to bed and force her to rest.

                He placed his arm around her waist lightly to allow her to walk at her own pace but he was close enough to catch her if she needed it. Elissa normally would have pushed him away with a laugh for acting like she was fragile, but after their fight she needed him close. It almost frightened her how much she felt she needed him.

                They were the last to enter the great hall. Everyone was standing in a loose circle around Solona. They were all in proper Warden armor today, even Solona was in regular mage armor. She was wearing her ranking plates which added additional protection down her front as well as displaying her rank as Warden-Commander. Morrigan was upstairs as she was to bring Conner down with Shale who was going to carry the boy into the harrowing circle. Solona nodded to Elissa when they entered but approached Irving instead.

                "Are we ready?" She asked.

                Irving smiled at her and nodded. "Yes. We only need to know who we are sending in and await the child."

                "Ser Marcos will be your watcher mage." Said the ranking Templar, his tone dripping with contempt. Ser Harmon stood nearby shaking his head. Solona had been glad to see him the day before and had made a point to speak to him. Since then he'd been ordered to not interact with her, or any of the other party members.

                Solona turned on the Templar who spoke and all the party members took a protective step towards Solona at the tone he used. Alistair dropped his arm from Elissa and stepped up to her side. Both War Dogs also began to growl threateningly, making the Templars stand ready to defend themselves, except Harmon who was once more relaxed knowing not to appear threatening in front of a Mabari protecting its master. His Orlesian train counterparts didn't know better obviously as both dogs upped their growls and readied to fight.

                "Perhaps you were not told." She said in a dark voice dripping with authority. "I am the Warden-Commander, not a mage."

                "If anyone will be looking after our people it will be me!" Alistair said as he placed his hand on his sword. Seeing the escalation Rory and the others had all readied their weapons too.

                "And me." Elissa said, walking to his right her sword half out of its sheath.

                "We're Templars, we're trained to deal with possessed mages." The officer began, but Irving cut him off.

                "As is Warden Alistair, who is a fully-trained templar prior to his joining the Grey Wardens." He reminded the officer. "And these are the Wardens who cleared the tower several months ago.” Irving explained to the Templar Leader.

                "And the woman who just stepped forward is the Teyrnessa of Highever, the lady you were ordered not to anger." Ser Harmon said from behind them. The Officer looked annoyed but backed off once he understood he was working outside of orders.

                Irving turned to the party. "I am sorry, we recently received a new crop of Templars from outside the Circle."

                "Outside the country too." Alistair snarked. "You idiots will want to take your hands away from those pommels slowly before the dogs decide to kill you for threatening their mistresses." The Leader gave Alistair a dirty look but obeyed his command. Once they removed their hands from their weapons Elissa called the dogs off and they moved to flank both her and Solona.

                Solona looked the Templars over in a way she never would have four months prior. "I expect you to all be professional, and not to interfere with any Warden business, here or at the Tower training facilities." She paused to see if they were listening, one she was confident they were she continued. "If I hear one word of complaint I'll be sure to remember names when I send a letter to the Divine regarding her troops and their actions during this trying time." The non-subtle threat had several of the knights looking a little uneasy.

                It didn't take long for the ceremony to be ready. Just before Solona laid down next to Conner she looked at Alistair. "I am sorry to ask you to do this big brother." Her heart ached as she readied herself to enter the Fade.

                He pulled her into a hug that she could certainly feel in her ribs this time. "Don't make me have to kill you little sister." He whispered. "I'll never forgive you." He added softly.

                She pulled back and they both saw the others tears. "I wouldn't expect you too. Just forgive yourself, you will be only killing my body."

                "Prophecy trumps all." He whispered as he placed his forehead to hers.

                She chuckled and kissed his cheek. "Prophecy trumps all."

                He reluctantly helped her lay down and moved to stand by her head with his sword drawn.

                She closed her eyes and Irving began the ritual and placed her hand into the bowl of lyrium. Desire demons had become the one type of demon that Solona had come to hate the most and her research over the past several days suggested the demon was a lower-level desire demon. Conner hadn't been powerful enough to gain the attention of anything more powerful, but as she materialized on the other side of the Veil she only saw Valor waiting for her.

                "Valor, what are you doing here?" She asked him, she was more than a little unnerved that he was waiting for her.

                The spirit looked at her and quietly watched her for a long moment before he nodded. "I go where you go Hero."

                Solona sighed contently. It was actually comforting to have a Spirit watching over a mage while in the Fade, they were powerful Fade residents that could kill demons. "I was afraid of that."

                "You are not." Valor said calmly without moving from her path.

                "I'm not what?" She asked confused.

                "You are not afraid of me." He stated.

                She laughed softly. "Of course not, unlike demons you aren't going to try and possess me."

                The Spirit frowned. "Possessing you would defeat the purpose of being your guide."

                "And what guidance can you offer this time?" She asked.

                "Your time is coming, for now your fate is intertwine with the Queen and Faith. I will guide you more once you are alone. For now, Faith will council the Queen and the King." He told her. "It is best you help them accomplish their goal to achieve your own."

                "Alistair and Elissa?" She asked hoping for confirmation.

                Valor nodded. "Those are the names you have for them. We know their spirit selves. The Queen and her King."

                Solona took a deep breath trying not to react to the news. It was the news she expected, still it hit her like a sucker punch to her heart. "I need to find and kill the demon nearby." she told him.

                "She is here, as is the child and father." He said. "Through the archway you will find the father, and the son will be near him."

                "Thank you Valor."

                He nodded to her and then faded from view, but she could feel him nearby.

                After finding both Conner and Eamon, and speaking with them both briefly she found the demon. Compared to the other demons in the Tower this one was not very smart, it tried to give her whatever she desired, but there was nothing Solona wanted more than its death. The battle took more time than she had expected for a lowly female desire demon, but she overcame it.

                Pulling out of the Fade was much easier this time. She opened her eyes and looked deeply into Alistair's above her. "Hi big brother." She said with a goofy smile.

                His face lit up. Solona was amazed at how different he could look. Scared to overjoyed was an amazing transformation. "Hi little sister. I take it you kicked demon ass?"

                She snorted. "Like there was any doubt." She slowly sat up as everyone else began to examine Conner. "He'll be fine now." She told Alistair quietly. "I was careful when I killed the demon to make sure Conner was still attached to his body and there were no other demons nearby. Eamon was there though so he might be fighting waking so he can stay with his father a little longer."

                Alistair grabbed her in a fierce hug and kissed her cheek. "You are the best Commander ever, even better than Duncan." He nearly knocked her over as he hugged her tightly one more time. "I love you, sis." He told her. "Thank you for saving him."

                She gave him a blinding smile of her own. "Love you too Alistair. Thank you for being my watcher."

                "No templar will ever hold power over you again." He whispered. "I understand now."

                She gave him a confused look. "What do you mean?"

                "Teagan explained everything." He said softly.

                Solona paled and choked. "Everything?"

                Alistair gave her a concerned look. "I understand, it can't be easy, dealing with everything you've had to deal with on top of the warden changes."

                Solona figured out there was no way Teagan had said anything about the sexual encounters they'd had, or the torment they had put Isolde through on purpose. She figured out he was talking about what she had told Teagan about the way the Circle works. She had explained everything in part to let him know what Conner was going to face with the support of a noble family, verses what Jowan had faced because he had no support of any kind. In the end Teagan had been sympathetic, and thankful for the information.

                "Conner will wake, but Eamon will stay in his coma. The poison has done enough damage to keep him in it, but the magic the demon used was permanent. He will not die." She told the group as a whole.

                "We will be taking Conner with us when we leave tomorrow." Irving said kindly. "You'll have today to say your goodbyes." He turned to Isolde. "I will personally see to it that he settles into Circle life, and you of course we be able to visit once he is comfortable."

                "Thank you First Enchanter." She had responded woodenly. Isolde was wise enough to keep her mouth shut for once and took Conner upstairs to allow him to wake and have one last day with his family before being taken to the Tower.

                Alistair motioned to Elissa to slip back upstairs so they could finally talk privately. She smiled and excused herself. Alistair followed her a few minutes later. He walked quickly into their room and happily wrapped his arms around her shoulders as she stood in front of the fire warming her hands waiting for him.

                She sighed and leaned back into him. "I hate blood magic. I really didn't understand how much the Chantry tries to make you hate mages and blood magic specifically." She told him sadly.

                He sighed. "And I should have known better than to question your devotion to the people of Ferelden. She is one person and her duty was to look after her people the way mages have a duty to guard themselves against using blood magic. But people fail, sometimes through no fault of their own, or because they get backed into a choice they feel is the only one they can make." He looked down at her. "Isolde needs to be held to the same standards and I forgot that."

                Elissa kissed him on the cheek and hugged him tight. "No you didn't forget, you just have never had it ingrained in you to think this way, same as I don't understand enough about magic to know the differences as you and Solona do."

                He smiled down at her and tucked her hair back. "I'll be taking my concerns about the blood magic to Solona from now on since these are her decisions."

                "I think I can live with that." she told him happily.

                "Good, now let's get you back to bed." He said gently. "If we are leaving tomorrow we'll need you to get your rest so you can be better."

                She gave him a coy look. "Can you join me, to keep me warm?"

                "Minx!" He said chuckling softly.

                "For you, always."

 

                The next morning Conner left with the mages and Rory along with Leliana went with them so they could return with their horses. Leliana had wanted to double check with her fellow sisters that the Dalish were still settled in the same area as before so they wouldn't have to waste time looking for them. It would be two days before they could leave Redcliffe. Isolde had burst into tears the moment Conner had been lead from the hall and fled to his room and locked herself in. No one saw Isolde except for her handmaiden before they left three days a later.

 


	12. Chapter 12

 

Elissa was almost aglow with energy and health by the time they left Redcliffe. She woke to find her fever from the few days before had faded as they left Redcliffe. Her appetite was back in force. She also finally got to finish making up with Alistair well into the night.

Jowan had spent the night before they left frightened he was going to end up in the dungeon until Solona had returned. Teagan had been with her in his brother's office to figure out what has going to happen to Jowan without the Arlessa in the meeting. Solona had walked out and told him to get in the back of Bodahn‘s wagon. Jowan hadn't had any time to really process the fact before he was loaded into the back of the wagon and they were on the way out of the castle without Isolde having a word to say about it. He was still in shock that she’d talked Teagan into letting him go.

The entire party made camp at the edge of the delta that lead into the smaller lake attached to Lake Calenhad in an area protected from the snow and wind by the edge of one of the red cliff faces that the arling was named after. After camp was setup that night Jowan waited until they were sitting at the large bonfire waiting for the stew to cook to ask her what Teagan had said.

"What did you say to the Bann to get him to release me?" He asked her softly.

She smirked and lifted a brow."What makes you think I _said_ anything?"

Jowan groaned looking a little green as he always did when Solona's sex life was being discussed. She was never sure if it was because he saw her as family, or if it was because he might have once been attracted to her. It didn't matter to her because she knew he'd actually loved Lily and she'd never seen him as a possible partner.

"So the rumors were true, you did sleep with him." He said with disapproval.

She giggled and nudged him with her shoulder. "Wasn't much sleeping involved." Jowan didn't laugh with her, it sobered her. Normally while the topic made him uncomfortable he'd at least laugh along with her. "What's the matter?"

"You do know the outside world doesn't look at sex and relations the same way we do inside the Circle." He reminded her.

She shrugged, she knew that but she hadn't experienced that yet. "Seems pretty similar to me."

Jowan shook his head as he avoided looking at her. "A little discreet fun maybe, but banging the Bann of Rainsfaire in front of the Arlessa of Redcliffe and her staff? That wasn’t a smart move Sole." He lectured her, his tone was cold and assertive, something she was not used to. "Do you have any idea how much this could hurt your cousin?" He finally asked her.

Solona had been about to brush it off again when his last words sunk in. "What are you talking about?"

Jowan looked tortured as he let his disappointment wash over his face. "If the Arl dies, she will need Teagan to support Alistair for the throne. He will have trouble gaining support for her if it's known he is having an affair with you, the Warden-Commander; Alistair's Commander."

"Who said anything about making Alistair King?" She asked with surprise. "He can't be the King of Ferelden; he's a Grey Warden."

"Eamon was planning on it before I stepped foot in the castle. He asked me to scry for Alistair so he could be found and brought before the Landsmeet." Jowan explained to her. "He wanted to get Alistair to Denerim before Loghain had a chance to kill him."

Solona shivered. "I guess you were good at scrying since Teagan knew Alistair was alive before we arrived." She never could cast location spells, it required something that meant a great deal to the person or a piece of them like blood. It was the type of magic Templar used to find mages, only they activated the magic in the blood to locate the owner.

He nodded slowly, looking a little guilty. "He was greatly concerned when the scrying said Alistair was on his way to the Anderfels via Orlais." He gave her a dirty look for changing the subject. "That still doesn't change the fact that what you did was extremely stupid."

"OK, so no more sex scandals." She sighed, looking a little embarrassed at being called out for her behavior. It had been immature to leave the door open so Isolde could hear them better. "At least with nobles." She muttered. She was going to miss Teagan in some ways, it had been a fun few days. She looked at Jowan with concern. "Are you alright?"

He looked down and shook his head. "Do you know what happened to Lily?" He asked quietly. He looked sick with fear and concern.

Solona bit her lip and looked down too. "Greagoir was pissed when you got away using blood magic. He actually ordered us both sentenced to Aeonar for helping you." He gasped and looked frightened. She tried to reassure him by placing her hand on his shoulder. "It's in a way a blessing he did. There she will be tested and released because you did nothing to her. " She watched as his face clouded with sorrow. "If she had stayed in the Tower she'd have died in Uldred's rebellion." Jowan nodded absently. Solona looked at him sympathetically. "I should have told you earlier when you asked about the Circle. I didn't want to be the one to tell you."

Jowan nodded absently but showing he had understood her feelings. "She most likely hates me now." He looked down at the ground to hide the way his tears were filling his eyes.

Solona placed her hand on his shoulder. "If she loved you, she will forgive you in time. She knows how frightened you were." He pulled her into a hug and began to cry softly on her shoulder. After a few minutes it became body shaking sobbing that he needed to release. "And if I can forgive you, she can." She said with a supportive smile as she rubbed his back in comforting circles.

Solona pulled him closer to hug him as hard as she could as his breathing slowed and evened out. Jowan had always been a sensitive soul, he wasn't cut-out for the killing she and they others were going to have to do. The sooner she could get him to Soldier's Peak the better it would be for all of them, especially for Jowan. At least there he would be in similar to the Circle, without Templar guards looming about the halls. In the meantime he had a great deal to learn from Sandal about enchanting. It would be an interesting type of apprenticeship since Sandal couldn't really teach what he did, but Jowan wanted to learn. It would also be a distraction from what was going on in the world around them.

Elissa watched from a distance as Solona and Jowan talked. When Jowan broke down she turned away and walked back to the camp, pulling Alistair with her. "They are fine. She doesn't need us hovering." She reminded him.

Alistair snorted. "After Teagan I'm not sure how much we should trust her judgment when it comes to men."

Elissa chuckled softly and kept pulling Alistair away. "Kindly remember she is only seventeen and is likely to make mistakes when it comes to her personal life... but the question I have for you; is that her brother talking, or is it something else?"

Alistair looked down at her face, his concern still clouding his eyes. "It's mostly brotherly concern... Living in the castle I heard things I wasn't suppose to all the time." He explained while his cheeks quickly filled with a dark blush. "Teagan is... well his tastes in... activities were always a little..." He trailed off not sure how to describe it to her.

"Wild and adventuresome?" She supplied smiling at his blushing display.

He sighed with frustration and rubbed his now too long hair. "That's one way to say it. Humiliating for the girl...or guy, is another." He admitted uncomfortably. “Or at least I think so.”

She smiled softly but continued to tease him. "Not your type of thing then?" She asked calmly.

Alistair started to say no quickly, but then bit his lip. "Not like that no." he finally said, wanting to be completely truthful with her. While most of the things he had heard about were too extreme for his piece of mind, some of them had sounded interesting to a then teenaged Alistair. “Nothing that exotic.”

Elissa was intrigued by his answer, but decided to table that conversation for another time when they weren't discussing Teagan Guerrin. "Sole is fine,” she reminded him with a reassuring grin, “and other than a few love bites, she is unmarked." Alistair glowered at that statement. They both knew if she'd wanted them gone they would be. "Relax Alistair. At least she isn't shooting daggers at us with her eyes when we kiss anymore." She reminded him of the dirty looks they had endured after their reunion in Orzammar.

He grumbled and held her close to him. "There is that at least."

"Let's take a walk. This will be the last night it might be safe to do so for a while." She reminded him as she pulled on his hand to drag him a little ways away from the camp.  
They had made their camp at the edge of the arling patrolled area. After tonight they would be in Blight controlled areas of Southern Ferelden, and it wouldn't be safe to be out of sight of the others. The sky was clear making the stars visible and the air slightly colder.

They walked in silence for a few minutes until they were out of earshot of the camp. Alistair stopped when they got near the shore of the lake. He took her into his arms and held her against his chest, relishing the feel of her warmth. He moved his lips to her throat and gave her whisper light kisses along her pulse point just so he could feel the increasing speed of it under his lips.

"I want you to know that I am eternally grateful to have you in my life. Even as bad as things are right now, with the Blight and Loghain. I believe we are going to make it through all of this, because I believe in you." He whispered devoutly into her ear. "I never want you to doubt that. I can't believe everything we've already accomplished."

She shivered at his words. "I don't doubt it, and you had as much to do with how far we have gotten as anyone." She whispered back as her head fell to the side, giving him more access to her sensitive skin. "I think we can do this because of you." She moaned as his lips pressed harder to her throat, his stubble scratching at her skin as his tongue gave little licks against her pulse. "Without you I don't know I could have managed to shake off my grief enough to fight back after Ostagar." She whispered breathlessly.

He pulled back and looked intensely into her eyes making her shiver delightfully at the emotions reflecting back at her. There was certainly a little lust there, but mostly love and gratefulness that she too was feeling. "Me either." He told her seriously. "I really don't know what to make of this quest to find the Urn of Sacred Ashes though."

Elissa leaned into him and placed her head against his chest, hugging his waist as he wrapped his arms more tightly around her. "I don't think it's really the way to go, but it won't hurt to have some better intelligence on what is happening closer to Denerim, we can reach out to my allies there discreetly, and we need to head this way anyway to see the elves." She reasoned as she placed her head on his chest, playing with the ties on the front of his shirt absently.

"It's only a few days out of the way, and we know the Archdemon is still underground, so we have some time." He shuddered slightly as he remembered the nightmare she'd woken him from last night. His dreams had been worse in the Deep Roads. The dreams from last night were just more intense because they played on his insecurities about being not good enough to stop the Blight or Loghain. Leaving Elissa and Solona alone to fight the darkness and Archdemon because he’d fallen. It brought to the surface the feelings of guilt, worthlessness and abandonment he'd felt after Ostagar. It also dredged up the feelings of grief of Duncan’s death, only this time it was because he hadn't live in the dream, which in itself had been extremely disconcerting.

She nodded softly, rubbing her cheek against his chest. She loved standing like this and hearing his heartbeat. On the nights when she was having trouble sleeping the steady drumming of his heart was soothing and reassuring. It gave her hope that things could get better one day, and this strife would all end. It also helped that she had a complete belief in the Prophecy. While she might not believe in the Chantry and its Chant of Light, she did believe in the Maker wholeheartedly. She also believed he'd sent the Prophecy to guide them all to do his work. It was one of the reasons she never pressed Leliana about her own vision. When she was ready she would share everything or not, either way she was here for her own reasons as were all the others. The chances of all of them being in the right place at the right time to make such a huge eclectic group come together and work so well was astronomical. It had to be divinely touched in her opinion.

The prophecy was continuing to bolstering her feelings of positivity towards the choices they were making. While they always seemed to need to fight some unforeseen circumstances, such as the trip to the Deep Roads. Each victory netted them additional resources they didn't have before now, such as; the two Dwarven wardens now following the Archdemon, and the treaties with the dwarves to support Ferelden before and after the Blight. The treaties would not have been possible if she'd had less time to spend in Orzammar. Making the friends she had and taking the time to study the information she had been given had been a huge windfall for her and Ferelden as a whole once they defended Loghain.

Loghain and Howe had to be aware she had allied with the Circle of Magi and the Tower Templars. Their spy network might possibly know about her arrangement with Orzammar. Their allies were began to gather near Kinloch Hold Docks. With the Templars supporting her Loghain didn't dare attack them openly. He would risk starting a rift with the Chantry and even as much as Elissa hated the Chantry, now was not the time to be making more enemies.

Loghain also had the Bannorn rising up against him in rebellion. He had to fight a war on too many fronts right now, with limited resources. He had the Darkspawn, the nobles, and the scared population all vying for his attention. As much as Elissa was the figurehead they were likely to rally behind, Loghain and Howe had no clue where she was at present. All they knew for sure was their assassin had failed, and they couldn't hire another Crow to take care of her directly because of the rumors she was now the Warden-Commander.

Alistair and Elissa stayed out by the lake for a while talking about everything they had done, and how they were feeling about what they needed to do. Alistair had been surprised by her devotion to the Maker. With her constant disparaging comments regarding the Chantry he'd thought she wasn't religious. He wasn't the most devout of followers himself, but having been raised by the Chantry some of his belief in the Chant was real. He just didn't believe the stories and history were the whole truth either. He wasn't so sure the Maker watched over the world anymore.

They headed back to camp when the wind picked up enough to cause the cold to penetrate Elissa's cloak. They retreated back to the fire to be warmer and to eat dinner with the others.

Elissa reluctantly walked off with Solona after dinner to discuss a matter that was worrying her. She'd have rather stayed close to Alistair who had been helping keep her warm in the biting wind. He watched them go with a smile as Rory lowered himself down next to him.

"Everything alright?"

Alistair nodded as he rose to get another bowl of the stew beside the fire, he had to scrap the pot to fill the bowl. "Yeah. Elissa and Solona have a few secrets they aren't ready to share with everyone else yet, I think." He chuckled softly. Their secrets didn't bother him. He knew if it was important Elissa would have said something to them.

Rory chuckled. "More like girl talk."

Alistair shrugged with a chuckle agreeing with the ex-Knight. "I don't want to think about what they could be talking about after Redcliffe." He winced as he thought of the rumors he'd heard of Solona and Teagan's performance for Isolde. As much as he hated the woman, everyone knew she adored Teagan. Even as she played the pious, dedicated wife to Eamon her fondness for Teagan has always caused rumors. Their performance must have hurt her, and she already had so much to be dealing with. The whole thing seemed more than a little mean-spirited to him.

Rory laughed and slapped him on the shoulder again."Just be glad we are all dealing with our blighted issues in ways that aren't going to set anything, or anyone on fire again. Or nearly get someone's head chopped off." He said while pulling out a whetstone and his sword.

Alistair looked surprised as he handed over Alistair's own stone and sword to him. "I wasn't aware you'd…" He placed them beside him to sharpen when he finished the last of the stew.

Rory snorted and began to prepare his sword for sharpening. "I know how to be discreet, but no, I was too busy running back and forth from the Circle with the horses. Fetching and returning the mages. I'll deal with my issues in the traditional way when I get to Denerim."

Alistair blushed lightly knowing that Rory was talking about going to the Pearl, or another brothel in the city. "I'm sorry, I should have gone-"

"No. Elissa was sick." He told him without concern for the responsibilities falling on him. It had felt good to be needed without having to make choices that could lead men into death. He still wasn't ready for that responsibility yet, but he was slowly getting better about being a member of the team. "It was a very simple errand. You were where you needed to be. I'm glad Elissa is feeling better." He said watching her carefully, looking for any signs she was still not feeling well.

"No... she's defiantly better." Alistair said with a smirk. "Don't tell her I said so, but she ate her dinner, and almost half of mine both this evening and yesterday without noticing." He said as he held his bowl up to take a huge bit while he had the chance.

Rory looked at him with amused amazement. "Little miss I-still-eat-like-a-noble ate enough to satisfy a warden?"

Alistair nodded with a chuckle. "Under duress mind you, she will admit she eats more now because of the amount of riding and walking we do is more than she was used to. The last two days she's been ravenous." In more ways than one, but Alistair wasn't one to brag. Of course he hadn't needed to when everyone could hear them even as they tried to be quiet. Leliana had taken great pleasure in teasing him this morning about taking directions from Elissa. He hadn't been aware the nosy bard had been in the room beside them at the castle, and had heard everything through the windows. Seemed she had nothing better to do than to listen intently.

Rory glared playfully at him. "She better not be pregnant."

Alistair paled at the thought before remembering her teasing him that she was not in fact pregnant. He hurried to confirm that fact. "Maker, NO!" He cried out. "The healer made sure to tell her she wasn't!"

"Keep it that way until after the wedding." Rory muttered good-naturally. Alistair couldn't help but blush as he tucked into the rest of his dinner hoping that conversation was over.

 

Solona looked concerned as she dragged Elissa away from the camp. "There are two things I need to say."

"OK." Elissa said waiting for Solona to get herself together. Elissa had a feeling she knew what one of the topics was going to be and she was right as Solona dived right into the first topic.

Solona took a deep breath. "It was pointed out to me, bluntly, that my little bit of revenge against Isolde wasn't considered appropriate and could get you in trouble if the Arl dies." She said looking more embarrassed as she went on. "Maker, the more I think about it, the more I feel stupid for even starting all that." She ran her hand through her hair in agitation.

"That was about Isolde?" Elissa asked astonished that she'd done it for that. "I thought it was your changing hormones helping you make those questionable choices."

Solona had the decency to blush a light red. "My raging libido might have made the idea more appealing, especially after talking to a few of the maids about Teagan's past sexual history, and how Isolde doesn't let the single maids stay in the hall after dinner."

Elissa raise her eyebrows and scoffed. "You knew that he was..." She left the sentence hanging, not sure she wanted any of the rumors confirmed, she was still going to need to be able to look Teagan in the eye at a later date.

"Yeah." she admitted before clearing her throat. "Anyway, we both kind of got carried away when she walked in and left the door open."

Elissa laughed hard and loudly trying to picture the older woman's face. "Oh Maker's breath Sole. I wish I had seen that!"

Solona joined in. "It was great! Her face got that devastated look and scrunched up all harpyish... and the best part was what Teagan said to her as she watched us." She laughed harder as she recalled his tone and actions.

"Should I hear what that was?" Elissa asked still laughing.

Solona's eyes lit up as she recalled his words. "This is how a real woman likes to be pleasured, fucking enjoying every second of it, in every way!"

Elissa shook her head while still laughing so hard her head began to ache. "Maker that must have slayed her."

Solona snorted and leaned back against a tree proudly. "The bitch stood there and watched us."

Elissa gasped and nearly choked as she nearly doubled over laughing so hard, her eyes filled with tears and she had to wipe them away. "She didn't!"

"Oh yeah, then finally she screamed and ran off." They both dissolved into giggles for several more minutes, each setting the other off several times before they were able to sober up. "You're not mad at me are you?" She finally asked as they began to regain their composure.

Elissa shook her head with a look of amusement. "Alistair is a little disappointed, and disturbed by what he knows about Teagan, and what he heard happened. He might be questioning some of your decisions for a bit, but that's more to do with his idea of someone he is used to see as an uncle having sex with someone he sees as a sister."

Solona screwed up her face in sympathetic disgust. "I didn't think of that."

"As for the political fallout, I wouldn't worry. I think we are going to find a way to save the Arl, and if not sex scandals are nothing new among the nobles. They will be more upset about the age difference and that you are a mage than your position as Warden-Commander. Especially the women. Besides the only other option that nobles have would be Loghain if they refuse me as Queen." Elissa spelled out for her. "It won't hurt me. "

Solona looked relieved. "I didn't think it would but that doesn't mean I should make it harder than it needs to be." She paused before she brought up her other reason for dragging Elissa from camp. "The other thing was the book from the tower." She said, referring to Flemeth's grimoire. She didn't want to say what it was out loud since she never knew how close Morrigan was, or what animal she was disguised as to spy on the others. She wasn't as bad as Solona had thought at first. In fact she was starting to really grow on her. "I think we should hand it over."

Elissa agreed somewhat reluctantly. Unlike Solona she wasn't warming to the witch. When she was honest to herself thought her coldness had more to do with Morrigan’s attitude toward Alistair than anything the witch had done to her personally. "I would wait until we are done with the Elves first. We'll have time to let her pour over it while half of us are in the city."

Solona agreed. "OK, I'll give it to her before I enter Denerim."

 

It took them twice as long as they thought it would to get to the area where the Dalish were said to be camped because of all the Darkspawn between Redcliffe and the Forest. Zevran was well and truly blooded now. He'd killed as many darkspawn as Elissa, Wynne and Leliana had combined so far on this leg of their trip. It was as if he was still trying to prove himself to the group. Elissa could understand that. None of the others had been around when she had learned how dependable the elf could be. She was surprised Solona was dragging her feet about confirming her decision in making him a warden. She would leave it for a few more days before she said anything about it. Zevran seemed to be waiting for Solona to make her move and since he was content to wait for now, she would be too. At least until the elves were served the treaty.

Of all the treaties this one was the one she didn't hold out any real hope for. it was not because she had anything against elves, but because co-operation between humans and elves always seemed to end with promises to the elves falling short or being straight out broken. The Elven people were slowly being decimated and she did not blame them for their lack of trust when it came to humans.

Where there were once Elven cities filled with their race, there were now dwindling numbers among the nomadic tribes of Dalish. The populations of elves in the city alienages were so small, marriages had to be arranged between different cities to avoid inbreeding. Worst still for the elves was that they couldn't breed with any other race, all the children of such unions were born non-Elven. All breeding aged elves were needed to continue their race into another generation. Too many could be lost if they fulfilled their contractual obligations with the Wardens. And yet they could all perish if the Blight spread. It was not a predicament that she would want to have to make choices regarding. The Elves had sat out the Second Blight and the Chantry and Orlais had used it as an excuse to call an Exalted March against the Dales killing far more elves than the second Blight ever could have.

Due to all the discrimination and broken trust between humans and elves the Dalish were skittish around humans. They even had their own derogatory word for humans, _shems_. The Highever alienage was no better than any other, and while Elissa had wanted to do more, the elves wouldn't hear of it. They refused what they saw as charity. One of their leaders had explained it to her when she was a child. She'd tried to give an elf child her doll she had brought along with her that day when she had seen the girl looking at it enviously. The other child had spat at her and yelled something she hadn't understood before running away. The Elven leader had told her that they choose to live together in the Alienage where they could protect and care for their own rather than live among the people who used and abused them. He further explained that no elf would accept a gift from a human because most humans would hold a gift as an obligation to be used against them later. It wasn't until Solona told her about the abuses by the Templars against some of the other apprentices that Elissa finally fully understood when he had meant.

Elissa had been more determined to help, but over time she'd learned that forcing your help was as bad as ignoring a problem. She made sure the Elven leaders knew they could call upon her if they had need of a fair hearing, and they had called for her a few times when local guards, or other people had tried to take advantage of them. Highever City was also one of the few places where elves were allowed to openly wear and train with weapons like daggers and bows. The Arl of Highever was a close friend of her father and they had lifted the ban against weapons that most cities still enforced.

Zevran was the first to notice they were being shadowed as they looked for the Elven encampment. Leliana took an additional five minutes before she picked up the signs. Once the elves in the trees knew they were spotted they allowed themselves to be seen. There was a group of ten hunters surrounding them on either side of the wagon.

"State your business Shem!" One of the Hunters called out harshly.

Solona stepped forward. "I am the Warden-Commander of Ferelden. I am here to talk to the Keeper about the Blight. I hold the ancient treaties of alliance."

The elves starting talking to each other but stopped as soon as the leader made a motion of her hand. "Grey Wardens? We were expecting the one called Duncan to come." She said as she stepped forward to look Solona over. She did not seem to believe her.

"Duncan and the rest of the senior Grey wardens perished at Ostagar three months ago." Alistair said as she stood beside her. Solona explained the current situation and why she was coming to the Dalish camp.

The lead hunter put her bow in her hand away on her back. "I will lead you to the camp."

"They are _Shems_ , we have enough to deal with right now. Send them away!" Demanded another elf, several others seemed to agree with him and they closed ranks on the far side of the group.

The leader turned and yelled at him in Elven. Zevran leaned forward and translated in Elissa's ear. "You know I cannot! The treaties give them the right to petition the Keeper. And be careful, they have the right by even our laws to conscript anyone into their ranks during times like these." Elissa nodded thankfully to Zevran, but she kept quiet. She'd let Zevran tell Solona.

They'd gotten much closer to the Dalish camp than Elissa would have guessed they could before they'd gained the attention of the Hunters. It was soon evident why when they entered the camp and they could see the largest area was the hospital enclosure where the smell of disease and death was strongest. The hunter said that they'd been attacked in the forest but said nothing else until she introduced the group to a bald elf named Keeper Zathrian.

He greeted them dismissively. "If you are bringing news of the Blight it is not news to me. I can feel it in the south. I'd take the clan north but as you can see," He said waving his hand towards the large hospital, "we can't at the present time."

"They've had their own troubles." Alistair snarked. "What are the odds of that!" Solona elbowed his sharply. When he looked down at her he noticed she was giving him a look that said let me handle this. He was tempted to ignore her but thought better of it when he saw Elissa shake her head subtlety in the background.

The Keeper had turned his attention back to Solona. "I am sorry, but as our warriors are mostly hurt, or dying at present from the werewolf attacks that started about a month ago. I don't have any warriors to send with you, and our mages are needed here for healing." He said with some honest sympathy.

Elissa stood back and watched the rest of the camp while Solona continued to talk to the Keeper about the werewolves, why they were attacking, and what to watch for if one of the party besides Shale was to be bitten. The rest of the camp seemed restless and agitated by their very presence in the camp. Even Zevran was getting the dirty looks, and in at least three cases the looks were worse when directed at him. It fit in with what she knew of Elven culture. Though the Keeper seemed almost too eager to let them do the clan's fighting for him. It could be because he expected them to fail, but the mood of the camp struck Elissa was odd, as if the clan didn't seem to understand his actions either.

Zathrian was telling Solona about the White Wolves when she turned back to the group. "We have become experts on helping at non-warden issues." She said somewhat bitterly. "We'll see what we can do to lift the curse, in return I hope we can rely on the help of the clan when the situation is resolved."

The Keeper looked surprised and somewhat amused by Solona's insistence that the issue would be solved. "Of course, but be mindful of the forest, there is much more than werewolves out there."

"Of course there is." Alistair couldn't help adding. "Can't have a recruiting quest without a demon or a hundred attacking us. For once, can't we just ask for help and have it be provided without having to fight demons or some other Maker forsaken issue?"

"We didn't fight demons in Orzammar." Rory quipped back.

"Did you miss the Archdemon swooping pass our heads?" Alistair snapped sarcastically. "Swooping Demon. That is the worst kind of swooping!" He stated with a sharp nod to emphasis his point. "And you wonder why I think swooping is bad!"

"Swooping wouldn't be bad if we had Griffins." Rory said with a chuckle.

"Will you both shut up." Solona snapped. "I have a few more questions if you don't mind Keeper." She said once more turning to Zathrian. She proceeded to ask him about the rate of infection, how wide spread the infection was, what herbs and such did they need from the forest if they came across them should they bring back, how the infection started, and the signs and symptoms of such an infection. The Keeper's answers didn't seem to satisfy Solona very much. The answers were vague for someone who had been dealing with the disease for a month, and it seemed to her, he was letting his people suffer rather than try anything other than killing the wolf Witherfang.

"So basically if any of us start acting like Elissa during her time of the month..." That was as far as Rory got before Leliana kindly smacked him in the back of the head, sending his chin down into his breastplate forcing him to shut his mouth. Elissa took pity on him, but still hit him in the arm hard enough to bruise had he not been in armor.

Alistair was shaking his head and trying not to giggle. "Even I know better than to say something like that!" He turned to Morrigan and raised a brow. "And you think I'm the dumb one."

"Seems to be a common affliction among males." She sniffed.

"It is lucky I was not closer." Shale said dryly. "I am finding myself needing to defend the female ones now that I know I was once one."

Rory took a step further away from the women with Shale's threat, she could hit really hard. "OK, OK, I get it, damn!" He rolled his eyes towards the guys. "Sister solidarity."

Alistair took a step away from him as the women all turned to glare at Rory. "You are on your own brother."

"Indeed." Sten said, also taking a step away from Rory. "Provoking the Kadan and her associates is unwise, even if they are only women."

"I'll stand with you." Oghren said with a slight slur in his voice. Rory looked nervous that his only ally was the drunk dwarf.

"Damn I'm in trouble aren't I?" He sighed dramatically. "I don't see why Sten's not in trouble for his comment." he grumbled as he walked to the edge of the area they were eating in and out of range of anymore retaliation.

Elissa laughed with the other girls but she also looked down at the Dwarf. He'd been very quiet since they came to the surface from Orzammar. He'd drunk heavily and seemed to be enjoying the surface alcohol much better than the dwarven equivalent. She'd have thought the death of his wife would have been more traumatic than being on the surface. He'd been fine until they reached the doors outside. She realized then just how far Solona had come. Like Oghren she had been very limited in what she could do and her experience with the outside world had been very limited. She was doing a good job and Elisa made it a mental note to tell Solona how proud she was of her.

Before leaving for the deeper parts of the forest they talked to pretty much anyone willing to talk to the group. They learned a great many things about the Dalish and what to look for in the forest. Solona seemed to be of the opinion if they were going to go into the damn woods they were going to solve as many issues as they could without endangering the mission so the Elves wouldn't have any excuse to back out when they were cured. Elissa approved of her actions tremendously, even the match-making she'd done between a young hunter named Cammen and his sweetheart Gheyna.

The list of things to do included; looking for Athras's wife Danyla, who was likely a werewolf now, finding Ironbark for Varathorn, find the missing hunters, and to top all that off Wynne found out her first apprentice was holed up in the woods hiding from a few Templars that were also searching the forest for blood mages.

They headed back to the wagon just outside of the Dalish Encampment to sleep before heading into the forest in the morning. Only Jowan would be staying behind with Sandal and Bodahn. Varathorn and Bodahn were going to do some extensive trading when they were gone and several elves had been interested in Sandal's skills after seeing the party's arms and armor. Now that they were deep in the forest away from the eyes of others who might report back to Loghain, most of the party were wearing the Warden armor that offered more protection thanks to Sandal's enhancements than their previous armor.

Wynne was restless and quite jumpy that night when Elissa made her rounds to talk to each party member. Solona was also doing her rounds. They had come to an agreement that they each would cover half the group and they would switch every few nights. Tonight was her night to talk to Wynne. She approached the older woman and just sat beside her in companionable silence. She found Wynne liked to start the conversations rather than having them started for her.

It took her nearly ten minutes before she spoke at all. "I suppose I owe you an explanation."

Elissa shook her head. "Nope, I'm just here if you want to talk. Or I could get Sole if you'd prefer a mage who'll understand your concerns better."

"No." She said quickly. "She never had an apprentice. She would not understand."

Elissa gave her an encouraging smile. "But I've commanded younger men before and so I have in effect, although not officially, had squires of my own."

Wynne nodded quietly, which was strange. Normally the mage was full of advice on the day, or even how things were going. "I have lead a full life, more full than many others in my circumstances." She said acknowledging her past adventures outside of the Circle. "My only two regrets are both from times within the Circle itself."

Elissa smiled encouragingly at her. "Only two, you've lead a charmed life then."

Wynne actually chuckled. "I just don't often dwell on what cannot be changed. My son, while I do not regret giving him life, I regret knowing I could not be there for him when he found out he was a mage too." She looked deeply troubled as she looked down at her feet. "I had hoped he'd be more like his father and not be magical so he could escape the Circle."

Elissa gave her a searching look. "Wouldn't he have been given to the Chantry anyway?"

"Yes. The Chantry keeps all mage sired children to monitor them for magic until they are old enough to become lay sisters or Templar." Wynne acknowledged.

"So he would have been trapped in the Chantry either way." Elissa said as non confrontationally as she could. She hated the Chantry and its entitlements, especially to children whom they brainwash into servitude. It was one thing for a woman like Leliana to choose that life, but another to force someone from childhood to become a fanatic.

"I suppose." She said introspectively. She had never considered it that way before. She pushed away the thought for later and began to tell Elissa a little about her son, Rhys. He was a twenty-eight year old Enchanter in the White Spire.

"So you have written to him?" Elissa asked.

"Yes, I have let him know a little of his father and what I can about myself, but those things are carefully hidden in the letters just in case they were read by someone else. I am not suppose to know who he is." She admitted sadly.

They sat in the quiet for several minutes. "My other regret was Aneirin."

Elissa waited a moment before she encouraged Wynne to keep talking. "The ex-circle mage in the forest?" She couldn't help but wonder if Wynne had ever had a girlfriend she could share her burdens with before. If she had it must have been some time ago as the older woman seemed out of practice talking about herself.

She nodded quietly. "He had been a child found in Denerim's Alienage, as most Elven Circle mages are. He was fourteen and wasn't adjusting to the Circle well." She finally said, she fidgeted nervously, digging her toes in the dirt under her robes so Elissa might have missed it if she hadn't been looking for some sign of how uncomfortable she was. She stayed quiet, letting Wynne tell her what she wanted to of that time in her life.

"He was very defiant against humans and those in authority especially. And I certainly wasn't understanding at all. I had been so grateful to come to the Circle, and to be safe that I didn't take his concerns seriously." She flushed with her regret. "He needed time, and an understanding ear. Instead I gave him rules. Told him to forget his life outside. Spend his time learning his spells, and to stop dreaming of finding the Dalish."

Elissa was sympathetic. "Sounds like you weren't ready to have an apprentice." She said softly.

Wynne nodded softly. "I was not ready to have someone rely on me as much as he needed someone, not that soon after I lost my son. And then one night... my apprentice was gone, the Templars came back saying they had killed him. I thought he'd run because of me, and he was dead because I was too harsh with him when he really needed someone to be there for him." Sorrow filled her face as she took a deep shaky breath, holding back her tears. "I have tried since then to be the mentor each of my charges needed. I haven't always been understanding of everything, but I try to not push them so hard they feel the need to escape from me."

Elissa placed a hand on her arm in support. "Some people are not meant to be caged." She said softly. "Your Aneirin seems to be the type who would never flourish in a cage. You needed to spread your wings, as did he."

Wynne patted her hand. "I thank you, Your Grace." She said softly. "I had not thought of it from that angle. It would explain why I am unable to connect to a few others I have taught."

"I imagine it must be worse for healers. All that training to save lives and still being locked up, unable to use your skills for the greater good of all."

Wynne looked hurt as she looked down at her hands. "I never thought about what I could not change, and now as I am older I wish I had tried a little more to get out so I could do more. But now I am a tired old lady." She chuckled softly. "Well beyond my peak for these adventures in the cold of a Ferelden winter."

Elissa smiled with understanding. Wynne hadn't been keeping up as well as she used to. "Why don't you sleep. I'll take your watch tonight."

"I can do it..."

Elissa shook her head. "Tomorrow is going to be hard enough on you. You can have my shift the night after tomorrow when we are back in the encampment if it will make you feel better?"

Wynne smiled at her. They might have gotten off on the wrong foot but Elissa was much stronger now, and her temperament was more calming than tempest since they'd returned from the Deep Roads. "I will do that. Thank you." She agreed before going into her tent to sleep.

 

The next morning they headed out into the forest, Zevran took point while the others fell into their usual formations. Right away they were set upon by wolves, several were blighted. Only a few feet away they came across one of the missing hunters. It was a quick trip back to drop him off with the scouts outside of camp.

It was mid-morning when they came across a small bridge near a large pool created by a waterfall where three werewolves stood. As strange as it looked they were waiting for the group to come to them.

The largest one in the middle looked them over, with obvious intelligence in its eyes. "So the watch wolves spoke truly. The elves sent humans to kill us for our attack. How ironic." He spat with contempt.

The party was surprised. Alistair's mouth was the first to recover. "That's is just creepy." He shuddered.

"Alistair!" Elissa admonished him slapping his head lightly.

"Idiot." Morrigan hissed.

"You can talk!" Solona exclaimed with astonishment. "May I ask who you are?" The Leader stood taller while the others seemed to hiss and watch over the group warily. The Werewolves were hugely outnumbered.

"I am Swiftrunner, leader of the pack. You can go back to your wretched Dalish friends and tell them you failed." He said bravely considering the circumstances. "Tell them it is now their turn to feel and share our fate they placed upon us. They will now pay in blood for what they have done to our people."

Solona who had felt a large part of the story had been left out now was even more concerned about the mission into the forest. These werewolves were not like the ones that occupied other parts of Thedas, Zathrian had admitted that much when they spoke. Those other werewolves were unable to speak.

"Sounds like you have a tale to tell that I have not heard. Please I would like to hear your story, if you would indulge me?" She asked openly.

"What are you mad?" Alistair asked her openly.

Morrigan scoffed with disgust. "I can't believe you are going to make me agree with the oaf again, but are you mad?"

The werewolves growled at their interruptions. "Zathrian sent you. He only wants our deaths, talking is useless." Swiftrunner growled. "Even with you."

Solona was beginning to get a clearer picture and the holes in the stories she heard made it seem as if the werewolves had a legitimate reason for retaliating against the elves. She hoped she was wrong. "You know the Keeper?" She asked.

"Not in the flesh." Swiftrunner and his cohorts all growled and let out excited huffs of breath. "If he ever steps into our portion of the forest we will take great pleasure in killing him for what he's done."

"What has he done?" She asked.

The question seemed to be the wrong one because the werewolves slipped down into defensive crouches. "You know nothing of us, the curse of those you serve." Swiftrunner hissed before they turned and disappeared into the mist created by the river's waterfall.

"Well that went well." Rory snorted.

Solona turned fire in her eyes as she turned on Alistair and Rory. "We needed to know what is really going on here and you," she yelled turning on Alistair, "are letting your personal feelings about my judgment get in the way of using your brain."

"He never uses it." Morrigan scoffed. "The witless moron doesn't know how to think."

"You're no better and you just agreed with him Morrigan." Solona laughed with scorn dripping from her words. "What does that make you?" Morrigan sputtered for a moment before falling silent.

"Let's keep moving." She sighed.

Nearby they found; the body of a Templar that had been attacked by a bear, a small raiding party of darkspawn, and a few rapid blighted werewolves before Solona called for a break.

Elissa came over and offered her some support. "You did well this morning."

Solona snorted. "I bitched out your boyfriend." She whispered to her to keep their conversation private.

Elissa giggled. "I know it was great to see him all cowed like that."

"You should try it sometime." Solona smirked.

Elissa laughed. "Who says I don't?"

"We all know he's good at following your orders." Solona giggled loudly as Elissa blushed a deep red and covered her face with both hands while giggling.

"Maker! Can you really hear us?" Elissa mumbled through her fingers, trying not to think about the night before. She knew they'd been overheard because of the giggling from Solona and Leliana she’d heard after one of her louder than intended moans.

Leliana sat down beside her. "Yes, when he gets very energetic it is hard not to notice. Your whole tent shakes, even when you manage to swallow your screams." She giggled delightfully.

"That night outside Redcliffe, I thought the tent was going to fall down on your heads." Solona managed to say while laughing softly.

"I am going to cutting him off." Elissa groaned in embarrassment.

"That is likely to make your problem worse." Leliana sang teasingly. "He'll be twice as enthusiastic when he's allowed to return to your..."

"What are you ladies laughing about over here?" Alistair cut in, he'd noticed Elissa's blush and knew they had to be teasing her as much as the guys had been teasing him about noise from their tent.

"Kitten!" Leliana finished loudly.

It started as a startled snort from Solona, and then delightful giggles from Leliana as she saw the look of mortification wash over Elissa's face. When Oghren and Rory started hooting loud enough to wake the dead, the rest of the party joined in. Elissa knew Leliana had overheard Alistair call her private parts by that name when she’d overheard them in Redcliffe. She hadn't known she'd shared that piece of information with the whole group until that very moment.

"Kitten!" Oghren bellowed. "I got to remember that one! Certainly enough pussy in the camp that they'll each need a name."

"Try it and I'll fried you like an egg Oghren." Solona laughed lighting up her hand with flames.

"Yours can be named Andraste, little miss flaming knickers." He teased.

Everybody else continued to laugh heartily as Solona shot a tiny flame at his behind, making him swat the smoking hot spot on his armor.

"Alright time to move on I think." Elissa called out. With very high morale everyone gathered up their things and prepared to move on.

They found the Ironbark, and it was at that point the trees in the forest began to attack them. Solona explained they were called Sylvans. Elissa didn't really care. She wasn't happy with how dull her sword was going to be after cutting the damn things into firewood. She'd almost cried in relief when she realized she wasn't going to have to cut up the Grand Oak they came across. At least that was until the thing started rhyming at them. She was tempted to cut the thing up anyway, but Solona being the voice of compromise and reason agreed to find some crazy ass thief and get the damn Tree’s acorn back. And if Oghren didn't stop making jokes about retrieving the Oak's semen she was going to kill him too.

Tramping through even more forest they found the thief and he too was a completely crazy human mage. Solona managed to trade for the damn acorn and they moved on. Not far from his camp they'd came across Wynne's apprentice Aneirin.

Elissa let Wynne go forward and the two talked privately. Elissa watched from a distance as Wynne began crying softly and the Elf comforted her. Elissa moved everyone a little further away to give them more privacy. When they were done Wynne introduced Aneirin to the group. He was shy and quiet.

"Hello." He said.

"Everyone this is Aneirin." Wynne said. She made introductions to everyone. "Aneririn has decided to stay and help the Dalish as their healer until the Blight is over, and then he is thinking of returning to the Circle to help rebuild it." She said happily. The Elf seemed happy with the choice but Elissa was curious.

"Why would you?" She asked bluntly. "You're free out here."

He gave her a shy smile. "I am not Dalish, and they are not very accepting of outsiders, even when that outsider is an elf." He explained. "I had romanticized notions of what living with the Dalish would mean as a child. Now all I want is a home." He admitted softly.

Solona smiled sadly. "The Circle will need help rebuilding, but the Templars are not forgiving." She warned him."If they cause you to run again, fine me and I'll help you." She said with a welcoming smile. She gave him directions to finding Soldier Peak. “Please don’t tell anyone where the keep is.”

"I give you my word. Thank you and goodbye for now." He said before returning to his camp.

Morrigan watched him walk away. "I will never understand why you allow yourselves to be ruled by those accursed Templars and their church. Why not just kill them until they leave you alone as they do the Wilder Folk, or the Dalish?"

"It more complicated than that." Solona told her with a weary voice. They had had this conversation several times in the past. "The Chantry doesn't just go after the apostates, they go after every friend, family member, loved one the apostate has, even enemies, so that the apostate has nowhere to turn."

"Eventually they must run into groups who fight back as the Dalish do." Morrigan said with crossed arms, she was not impressed with the argument.

"You have had the protection of your mother, and now us for your whole life." Elissa said rudely. "You care for only yourself, and so they cannot harm you. Most of us care for more than that and they can exploit that when they find the need to control someone."

The rest of the day saw them return the acorn and receive a branch that suddenly allowed them to see through the mist and illusions of the Forest. It allowed them to find the blood mages some of the dead Templars had been looking for, and Athras's wife Danyla.

Solona had cast a very powerful sleep spell on Danyla instead of killing her as she had begged them to. Shale carefully carried the werewolf to Aneirin's camp. Once they explained the situation he agreed to watch over her while Solona looked into the cure. They saw no reason to kill her if they were about to see about lifting the curse. If it was unrecoverable Solona promise him she would abide by her wishes.

Leliana once again set off a Reverent Trap when she examined a tombstone. Rory had defended her when he reminded Solona that it was better they set off the trap than an unsuspecting elf or traveler. Solona had apologized and Leliana had graciously accepted.

It was decided that they would start fresh in the morning instead of pushing on and attacking the ruins that day as it was pretty much the only place the werewolves could be held up in. Walking into their stronghold tired and cranky was not in their best interest. Solona still decided that tripling the guard was best to make sure everyone got a good night's sleep.

They were on the move at first light. The ruins were everything Elissa had expected. The werewolves had managed to blockade themselves inside the ruins and of course the ruins were crawling with monsters. There were undead, ritual locked rooms with ghosts and vengeful spirits, giant spiders and even a young dragon. The dragon was well on its way to becoming a High Dragon, and had a mini-dragon horde of gold and jewels. There were rooms of traps that Zevran, Shale and Leliana were able to subdue, and writings only Morrigan and Solona could read.

The ruins themselves were ancient Elven. The buildings must have been very beautiful at one point. Now the walls had crumbling rock and holes that made some sections unstable. There was a wealth of Elven histories locked up in the many small ancient libraries spread around the ruins. Solona had come across a spirit phylactery that held knowledge of the Elven Arcane Warriors, an order of magic using warriors that had set off the Exalted March on the Dales by sacking Val Royeaux. The knowledge of how one became and advanced as an Arcane Warrior from an apprentice to a grandmaster level was imprinted directly into Solona's mind. In return she destroyed the vial and released the spirit back to the Fade. Wynne had seemed unusually approving of Solona's actions, which caused Elissa to once more wonder about the mage and her concern for Alistair, Solona and herself.

It wasn't long after that they found a way to climb down into the area behind the barricade. The werewolves knew they were coming and a group waited for them.

One of them stepped forward with his hand out to the side showing he was leaving himself open. "The Lady would speak with the Queen, King and Hero."

Elissa and Solona shared a startled glance at each other. "And who is this Lady?"

The Werewolves also shared a look. "The Lady is the Lady of the Forest." The first one said calmly. His fellows seemed very irritated. "The Lady thinks you can be reasoned with... that you hold the power to change the world. She also believes that you do not know the truth and would inform you of the things that Zathrian would not wish you to know."

"Is our safety guaranteed?" Elissa asked.

"We obey the Lady and she means you no harm, as long as you agree to the terms of a parley." The Were leader said looking over the size of the party warily.

Elissa nodded. "What are your terms?"

"No more than two others might come, and your weapons stay sheathed." He told her.

"Elissa don't." Alistair pleaded. "All of us or none."

"How many Weres are in there?" Elissa asked. "Do you out number us?"

The werewolf looked annoyed but nodded. "I told Swiftrunner you would not agree."

Elissa shook her head. "Tell the Lady we agree on the terms we all enter but the rest will stand at the back of the room."

"Agreed." He said swiftly. He and the others turned quickly and ran into the next room.

As they entered to follow Elissa nodded to Zevran and placed her hand on Wynne's arm. "You two come forward with us. Rory be prepared to fight our way out if we need it."

With their plan in place the five walked to the raised dais. On it stood a group including Swiftrunner all standing guard over what looked like a woman with vines wrapped around her legs and lower arms and hands. Her eyes were pitch black, but her slightest touch calmed the werewolves. Her voice was quiet and soft like a summer breeze.

"I bid you welcome, Queen, Hero and King. I am the Lady of the Forest."

Solona stepped forward. "How do you know those names?"

She smiled. "I am a spirit of the forest made flesh nearly three centuries ago." She looked angry for a moment before her features flowed into tranquility once more. "I will answer your questions in the order that will make the most sense I believe. There are things Zathrian will not have told you."

"As you wish Lady." Elissa said calmly. She was being careful to watch the Weres closest to them, but they were almost in a trance looking at their Lady as she swayed fluidly back and forth where she stood.

"It was Zathrian who created the curse." She told them. "He made the curse to punish the humans who attacked his encampment, captured and killed his son, and raped his daughter. The girl was with child. She killed herself rather than live with her pain and shame." She explained, her voice filled with sorrow and sympathy for the children flowed like her movements, slow and beautifully. "Zathrian was in great pain. He summoned a spirit and bound it to the body of a great wolf, creating Witherfang who in turn created the cursed with those bitten and left for dead. The rest of the human tribe were killed by him."

"Is it true that the death of Witherfang will destroy the curse?" Elissa asked diplomatically.

"Yes and no.” She answered softly. “The death of Whitherfang will be needed, but so will the release of the curse by Zathrian." She explained, as she continued her voice began to harden. "We have pleaded for years for him to release the curse. Those he sot to punish are long since gone, we attacked the Elves with the hope he would now be forced to free us all."

"You are Witherfang." Solona stated with a damning sigh of exasperation. This was what she had begun to suspect all along. Zathrian had no real desire to save his people, that had been evident in his vague answers regarding treatment when they had spoken in the encampment. She suspicions had only grown when they had spoken to Swiftrunner the day before at the river.

"Yes." She admitted, her voice once more soft and beseeching. "Will you bring him here to end the curse on both sides?"

"We will." Elissa stated firmly. The rest of the party had shifted when Elissa had made her pronouncement into a more relaxed posture.

They were escorted by the Lady to the barricaded door and left to return. They had not even left the ruins when Zathrian met them. After a brief conversation, but frustrating conversation in which he confirmed the Spirit’s story, he agreed to met with the Lady.

Elissa held Solona back and they let the two sides argue for several minutes. They learned some interesting facts during the argument. Zathrian used blood magic to bind Witherfang together along with his life-force. To end the curse would also end his life. His death and the Lady’s return to the Fade would release the elves from their plight, return Danyla to her Elven form, and cure all those in the camp who were dying. Elissa finally had enough.

"Would your children be proud of what you are doing to your own people now?" Elissa asked with thinly veiled contempt. "Your people depend on you as their Keeper. What kind of Keeper abuses his own people to hold a grudge against those long dead? Your people are dying out as it is. If you can’t serve your people, you do not deserve the life you have!"

Alistair looked down in shame as he recalled his accusations he'd thrown at Elissa just last week. Seeing her in action, condemning Zathrian for failing his people, his duty, made Alistair feel small. He knew she would have to do things like this as Queen of Ferelden, and as her Prince-Consort he'd be asked to hold nobles to their oaths the way she was doing right now. He wasn't sure he would ever be ready to do this. He'd always shied away from the spotlight, that had been engrained. But Teagan had pointed out, every time he wasn't sure of himself, he'd have to consider letting her go, and the pain of that thought made him push the fear aside, for now.

Zathrian consented to lifting the curse on the condition that the Werewolves resettled far away from the forest.

Solona turned to Swiftrunner. "If you go northeast toward the Tower in the Lake, you'll find an encampment of those fighting against the Blight. Those not wishing to fight can go to the Warden Keep and help but supporting the war effort there with collecting herbs, making armor and weapons, or just help keep the settlement running. The keep is mostly empty so you will have a place to stay while the Blight is on. Once it is over we can see about re-locating you somewhere else if you wish."

Swiftrunner looked completely speechless. "You would do that, for us?" He asked uncertainly.

The Lady ran her finger down his back. "She is the Hero. She will see it through."

"The Hero?" Zathrian gasped. He knelt before Solona. "I am sorry My Lady. The spirits warned us of your coming, but I had thought it would be many years before the troubled times would come."

Solona just looked resigned. "We all have our parts to play."

Zathrian nodded and he stood. "It is time we rested Spirit." Together they began the complicated ritual to remove the bindings on the Lady. As she unraveled and blew away like leaves in the wind the Werewolves each fell to the ground writhing in pain and agony, and Zathrian fell slowly to the ground his features smoothing into restful contentment as he died peacefully. The transformation back into humans took time, and several of the people ended up with deep wounds and broken bones. Wynne and Solona began to heal them while the others searched for clothing and other necessary items for the suddenly naked and weaponless group of thirty-two people in the chamber.

The party stayed overnight. It was decided that they would hand over half the dragon loot to the re-humanized humans and the party would trade with the Elves for any other supplies they would need for their trip north. While the Werewolves knew how to hunt and track, that was with bodies they no longer had. Snares and learning to shoot a bow would be needed.

Solona wrote a letter to Levi and Cara explaining what was happening. To help with the co-operation of the Elves, Solona made sure to collect Danyla who was now an elf once more and fully healed and clothed thanks to Aneirin. He agreed to accompany the newly transformed humans as far as the Tower. He would join with the Elves until after the Blight was over. He would then rejoining the Circle and help Wynne re-build.

Shale brought the wrapped body of Zathrian to the new Keeper Lanaya for Solona. "I am sorry for your loss." She said honestly. "I know your people have your own burial rites for your dead so I made sure to not disturb his body too much as we brought him to you."

"Did the werewolves do this?" She asked sadly.

Solona shook her head and placed a comforting hand on the young Keeper's arm. "He died ending the curse. It was too much for his body to take, but he did this for his people, for all of you and for those that have been infected for the past several centuries."

Lanaya looked at her with sad skepticism. "I have been his First for a long time." She said frankly. "I know it was he who cursed them and why."

Solona nodded carefully. "And he agreed that those that did the deed they were being cursed for are long gone. It was unfair to allow his grief to condemn his own people too."

Lanaya acknowledged the sentiment. "We will meet at the Tower Encampment in a few weeks. We will need to recover and supply ourselves. Dareth Shiral." She said with a final bow.

"Safe journey to you too." Solona said with a nod of respect before backing away.

Solona walked to Elissa. "Let's get back to the wagon and get out of here at first light. It's time to go to Denerim."

 

 


	13. Chapter 13

 

  


There was a large encampment of refugees outside of Denerim. The party moved to the far side away from the gates and setup their own camp. The group was having a meeting to decide who could go in and who could not.

Elissa took point in the conversation. "Obviously I cannot go into the city. Too many know what I look like and there are enough portraits of me that getting my image out would be easy." She explained somewhat annoyed by her predicament. Things would be easier to arrange if she could personally meet with key members of the Highever Alliance.

"Indeed. The Crows have a pocket portrait of you given to them by Howe." Zevran confirmed. Elissa cursed her stupidity in allowing her mother to give the pocket portrait of herself to Nathaniel when she had been stupid enough to admit her childish crush on him. Her mother had hoped it would spur Nate into making a propsal to her, instead his father had sent him away. The small portrait had obviously been left behind when he move to the Free Marches three years before.

"Shale, you are too hard to miss so I'd like you to stay as well." She said politely. She liked giving Shale the at least the illusion of choice since so many had been taken from her in her long life. "And you too Sten for the same reason, there are not too many Qunari warriors walking about Ferelden.”

Shale agreed with her assessment. "It would be unwise for me to go in, but perhaps those that are going might look for more crystals. I'd like more choices if possible."

Solona grinned at the golem knowing what she really wanted. "I'll look for some gems to so you can finish your jewelry." She said with an impish smile. She liked encouraging Shale's feminie side as it made her more likely to provoke the men with her dry dwarven humor. As an added bonus she could keep up with Oghran and had more than once sat on him to keep him in line, seeing Oghran streaking the camp while drunk willing to 'service' any of the woman present once was more than enough for Solona. Although seeing him hit on Shale had been hilarious. When she pointed out she didn't have any holes for him to rut, he'd offered to make his own, which is when she'd sat on him to let him re-think that thought.

"Oh, that would be most splendid." Shale exclaimed with obvious girlish delight.

"I understand Kadan." Sten said simply. Solona made a mental note to grab him some cookies since he would never ask. She'd recently found out he loved them.

"Wynne, Morrigan, I don't know of many mages walking about right now, and with the Circle supporting us it might not be a good idea to go inside." Elissa continued. She really wanted to limit the numbers and the diversity of the group entering the city. Their group was unique, but if the unique members were hidden, the members going in were less likely to be spotted.

"As you wish." Wynne said gratefully. Yesterday on the way to Denerim she'd collapsed a during battle against some maurading darkspawn. One of the reasons why Elissa wanted her to stay behind was so she could speak to her about the Spirit of Faith inside her. Finding out about the Spirit had been a reminder that things were going to get worse before they got better.

"We have something I would like you to see anyway Morrigan. It will give you time to study the book." Elissa told her. Morrigan raised her brow with interest and just nodded her head. She was in her old robes once more. Elissa wasn't sure where she had hidden them. She hadn't seen them since before they arrived at the Cicle Tower months ago. It actually helped her to blend in with the other refugues more than either of her armors did.

"Jowan and the dogs both should stay." Elissa added. "Mabari are a sign of nobility, and their presence will attract attention to you." She told the remaining party members.

"And I can't be seen in the city." Jowan said softly. "I know, and I am also a mage." Loghain would be certain to have kept tabs on any mages, especially one he'd sent to kill Arl Eamon.

"Alistair," She said turning to him, with reluctence. This was going to be a fight.

"I have someone I need to see in the city." He said firmly.

"This trip to Denerim isn't the time for that side visit. When we come back for the Landsmeet I promise we will make time for you to go see her." Elissa promised. He'd mentioned a few days ago he'd like to see his sister, the one he'd been with in the Fade dream at the Circle. Elissa was uneasy about the visit for several reasons, but mostly because he'd placed such faith in her acceptance of him as family. She didn't want to see him hurt if things went badly. She'd known he would insist, but there was too much at stake. They wouldn't have access to back-up if it went sour. She was sure it would. Even if this sister welcomed him with open arms, her house was sure to be watched, and that was a best case senario.

"This is a quick intelligence mission Alistair." Solona cut in, throwing her support behind Elissa. She was also uneasy about the sister's intentions and agreed they couldn't risk it yet. "And with your hair that long you look more like Cailan than ever."

Elissa winced but did agree with her assessment. Alistair's feelings on Cailan were volatile. One minute he'd be fine with knowing they were brothers. That Cailan knew and had wanted to know him made him happy but sad they never got the chance. But at other times he'd be bitter about how he'd never spoken to him directly. Personally she thought he looked more like a young Maric than Cailan.

"I'll cut it then." He said stubbornly. The way his chin jutted out as he stood defiant was making Elissa waver just slightly as she found it very attractive.

"I'll get some hair shears while we are inside, but we don't have time right now." Solona said putting her foot down. "I'd rather you were here looking after your Queen than having to look out for people staring at you because of your looks. Someone might report you to Loghain and then we'd be in serious trouble."

Alistair and Solona got into a staring match, when Rory went to step between them and play peacemaker Elissa stopped him. "I need you to protect her. It'll be only you, Leliana and Zevran going in. I'll keep Oghren here so you don't have to watch over him. He's too loud and stands out too much for this type of mission." She said quietly while looking at Oghran who hadn't bothered to join the conversation knowing he was going to staying even before the meeting started. He might be crass but he was practical.

Rory nodded and patted her back."I understand. She'll be looked after, I promise."

Alistair finally backed down and took a step back. "Next trip in we go see Goldanna?" He said forcefully without looking away from Solona.

Elissa moved over to him, away from Rory and wrapped her arms around his waist. "I promise my love." He nodded and pulled away from her. He gave her a kiss on the hand to let her know he wasn't mad at her, but left and walked into their tent so as to not watch the others go in. Elissa wanted badly to follow him in.

She turned to Solona and Rory. "I have some letters that can be dropped off at the Gnawed Noble Tavern. Give them to the barman Michel and tell him, 'It's never good to rest on your laurels', and give him five gold." She handed over several letters all addressed to several different nobles.

Rory lifted his eyes in surprise. "You're calling in the Alliance?"

Elissa smirked but with a laughing tone said, "Not at all, I'm letting them know I survived an assassination attempt, and am in hiding with several trusted bodyguards. I also said that I will be in touch when I can."

Rory laughed but it held an edge to it. "You're going to let them rebuild the Alliance to support you without even asking them, or telling them you are making a bid to be Queen! Brilliant!"

"What's so brilliant about it, shouldn't we let them gather with the rest of our forces?" Solona asked, still not fully understanding how The Game was played.

"No!" Elissa said forcefully. "In the end those will be your troops, not mine. The Alliance has to be mine and mine alone!"

Rory agreed with her but was more gentle with his explanation. "Elissa can use her Alliance troops to support you once she's queen, but she needs to become queen in her own right first. She can use your personal support as Warden-Commander, Alistair's as your senior Constable, and me as your whatever rank you decide to give me, but not your army. That would be in violation of your oath as a Warden and of the Treaties themselves." He told Solona patiently.

"How is supporting her not a violation of the Warden's not being political?" Solona asked not really understanding the difference. Alistair had been so adamant about that when they met, but it had been pushed aside when Elissa took command.

"The only exception of that is when fighting a Blight. Wardens can political support whoever can help us to fight a Blight. Loghain has proven himself to be as dangerous as the Blight to Ferelden, and to the Wardens needed to fight the darkspawn and Archdemon." Rory explained.

Solona looked at both of them seriously. "How do you two know so much about the old treaties and Warden politics. None of this was in the diary, so where did you learn it?"

Elissa placed her hands on Solona's shoulders. "My father made sure I knew all this because King Maric confided in him that there was a Blight coming. It was likely affect or start in Ferelden or from the Dales. My father knew I wanted to be a Grey Warden and while he never intended for me to be one, he'd intended for Rory to be." Rory placed his hand on her shoulder affectionately and she gave him a grateful smile. This was the first time she had a chance to talk about her father in a while and for the first time it didn't hurt as much as it was an accepted fact that he was gone.

She dropped her hands and stepped back, giving Solona a little room between them. Rory continued their account of Bryce's preparations. "His plan for Highever was to send a band of men to join the Wardens when the Blight was called, but because Loghain refused to admit it was a Blight, Cailan called the armies to fight a 'large raid of Darkspawn.' My band was to go when the call came, but of course it never did. Instead they all died at the gates of Highever." Rory's face was stony as he talked about what had happened, and Elissa reversed their previous position and hugged his waist to comfort him.

He'd only told Elissa the basics of what had happened to him that night. He'd been knocked out, but believed dead. It was only because he was awake and managed to keep quiet when the men began searching for Elissa among the dead that he'd escaped. He knew he'd bought her enough time to escape. Renden Howe had been furious when he had not found the treasury intact. The dead had been loaded up and taken behind the castle to be burned, him among them. It was after that they Rory had managed to sneak away to the stables and steal a horse that had been loaded with supplies. He'd ridden non-stop as far as the crossroads of the tower before the horse had given up and he'd hitched a ride with other troops heading to Ostagar.

"Bryce's plan always had Highever supporting the Wardens. If things had gone as expected Alistair and Elissa would still have met." He said with a mirthless laugh. "Because of Alistair's position as Duncan's aid he'd have been the one sent to secure Soldier's Peak, and Highever is the second closest outpost with Amaranthine being the only one closer, but it would not have been ready to support the effort."

Elissa gave an unladylike snorted of distain. "Howe was never one to plan for tomorrow, his reserves always ran low, and he'd have to buy supplies to last the winter from Highever and the other Banns."

Solona was getting a little overwhelmed by the preparations that had gone into the actions of Elissa and Rory. "So Uncle Bryce knew and planned for a Blight, including teaching you both what you could and couldn't do to support one another through it?" It was more a statement than a question, Solona knew enough about her Great-Uncle Bryce to know he was a fair man who took precautions and planned for the long game. It didn't surprise her that Maric had gone to him above any other noble to prepare for the Blight.

Elissa nodded sharply. "I would not ask you to do anything if it was illegal for you to do so," She assured her cousin.

Solona scoffed at the idea. "I know that. I just wish I knew more about being a Warden before becoming the Commander. Rory is more prepared than I am. The dwarves in the Legion seemed very angry about how young and inexperienced we were, but proud that we weren't like the other Wardens." She added worried about the implications of that assessment of the Wardens.

Elissa was surprised, in their tales about the Deep Roads no one had mentioned what the Dwarven Legion Leader had said to her. Solona told her about how he was shocked by her age and his warning about not trusting the Warden Leadership because too many were given second chances that shouldn't have.

Rory looked thoughtful as he rethought the conversation with that insightful slant on the conversation. " It was almost as if he was warning us to expect to be replaced wasn't it? We might need to add an amendment to the conditions for Grey Wardens to be in Ferelden. He seemed to have a very poor opinion of the Orlesian Command and their high-handed nature."

"As if Orlesians are anything else. But that is a good suggestion. What do you propose?" Elissa asked, she would be needing options to considered.

"The Warden-Commander must be a Ferelden national, and can be dismissed by the crown if they are found to be working against the welfare of Ferelden?" He suggested.

"That would disqualify me since I'm a Marcher by birth." Solona chuckled. "Guess you can be Commander after all Rory. You certainly studied for it!" She teased.

Rory chuckled and wagged his finger at her. "Ah, but as Queen, Elissa can grant you that status, and she'd have to if you lead us in killing the Archdemon."

Elissa felt a cold knot of dread in the pit of her stomach. They had more Wardens now, but of all those Wardens Rory was still the most likely candidate to take that final blow. Elissa and Solona shared a glance of pain and dread at the thought of losing Rory, or any of the party to the Archdemon.

Rory reached over and grabbed Solona into a group hug with him and Elissa. "Don't go borrowing trouble you two. We will have time to open the borders before the Archdemon comes, you'll see."

Elissa hugged them both tightly before she let go and they stood back. "You both should head into the city before dark."

They both nodded and left to gather Zevran and Leliana to go with them into the city. It made her nervous to let them both go again without her, but it had to be done, she was just too well known. She turned to the tent where Alistair had gone to pout about staying behind, but Solona had a point, Alistair needed his hair cut because he was looking more and more like Maric and Cailan every day.

  


Rory confided to Solona that he needed to make a side trip, a personal one, while in the city and she had flushed slightly when it became evident what he meant. She'd only nodded and suggested he take Zevran with him to watch his back. She'd seen his disappointed look that she wouldn't be willing to be with him, and looked away to avoid the temptation to say yes. She'd seen enough in the Deep Roads without the tents to be dreadfully tempted to follow him to the Pearl, or even invite him to forget the Pearl and share her room.

They quickly located the Gnawed Noble and got two rooms, one for the men and one for the women. Zevran and Rory were planning to be gone all night so Solona planned to sleep in their room so she could have a huge bed to herself for the first time in her life. Zevran had chuckled at her plans when she mentioned it.

The first thing they did was drop off Elissa's letters to the barman along with her pass-phrase. He'd taken the letters and nodded but didn't say anything as the gold landed him his palm. They had also figured out the place they needed to go to see the Brother Genitivi was across the street.

The house was dark so they assumed he wasn't home, and made plans to go first thing in the morning. Leliana wanted to visit the local Chantry for evening prayers, and the boys were eager to head off so they split ways for the evening even though it was only just dinner time, it was still dark this early in the evening because of the time of year. Solona bought the supplies they needed or wanted before returning to the Tavern in just under an hour. She’d made special arrangements for Sten's cookies, a warmer cloak for Wynne, and a change of clothes and a warm cloak for Jowan, a mirror for Morrigan, a nice diamond for Shale, and a toy golem for Alistair as well as the hair shears. Alistair wasn't the only one in need of a haircut. She'd also found a nice smutty book for herself that she would share with Elissa later.

Solona was happily sitting in the giant fluffy bed with a book, it was well after midnight when Leliana burst into the room. "I have some interesting news for you." She said laughing as she jumped onto the big bed. Solona had never seen Leliana so upbeat and excited.

Solona placed her book aside. "What has you so wound up?" She asked, Leliana's excitement was contagious and Solona found herself drawn into the redhead's excited hug before they settled back into cross-legged sitting positions across from one another.

"I wasn't always a Chantry sister." She explained to her with a mischievous look on her face. "I used to be a bard, as in an Orlisian trained Bard of old."

Solona laughed and rolled her eyes at her. "We figured that much out already, even Alistair." She teased, giggling at the thought. Alistair had tried to get Leliana to admit it several times, each time Leliana had sent him on his way blushing like the chantry boy he had been. Leliana giggled delighted at her past successes in making Alistair get flustered.

"I met a man today in the market." She informed her. "He was an elf-blood who hates most of the nobles, and wanted to get back at the ones who have been terrorizing the elves in the city."

"Ok." Solona said warily. "So what did you do?"

"Oh nothing important, just some harassment so that I could prove I was on his side, he has a nice network of spies inside the palace, and the other noble homes." She said with bright eyes.

"Anything we should know?" Solona asked hopefully.

"Several things!" Leliana exclaimed. "For one Queen Anora is basically kept out of all decisions since Loghain returned!"

Solona's brown shot up in surprise. "I never thought about what Anora could be doing. I thought she was supporting her father."

Leliana shook her head. "No, she's been totally pushed to the side in favor of Rendon Howe. He's basically Loghain's only advisor, and she barely has cared that Loghain might have killed Cailan, and my friend knows for a fact she's heard that rumor."

Solona sighed, but wasn't surprised. She knew Cailan and Anora had been betrothed since they were barely in their teens and Elissa had mentioned Cailan had been known to have a few mistresses along the way. Their marriage was not a love match, but she had thought they cared for one another more than what she was hearing. "That's not good. "

"It gets worse. Howe is now Arl of Denerim too." She whispered dramatically.

"WHAT?" Solona shouted in shock. "What in the void is Loghain thinking, Teyrn of Highever, Arl of Amaranthine and Denerim, no noble can control that much area? It includes two of the four major cities in Ferelden!"

Leliana nodded emphatically. "The City Elves are getting restless, there were a lot of deaths at a wedding a few months ago when the son of the last Arl raided the wedding and kidnapped the brides and the female wedding party. One of the brides got a sword and killed all the nobles who kidnapped them, including the Arl's son, in revenge for the rape of her cousin. She was executed for it." She explained with sorrow. "So now the elves are rebelling quietly."

Solona nodded in understanding. She'd heard of this type of thing in the Circle and one of the other apprentices had committed suicide when she'd reported a Templar for rape and nothing was done about it. "But why would Loghain give that much power to Howe?"

"So no one can question them?" Leliana suggested. "Between the two, both are Teyrns and two Arldoms and the regent. Together the Bannorn only has Arl Eamon to go to who is powerful enough to challenge them and possibly the Arl of Highever. Of course that's if Elissa doesn't walk into the Landsmeet alive."

Solona rubbed her temples with a touch of magic to cure the headache building behind her eyes. "Anything else I should know?"

Leliana nodded, still bubbly with excitement. "They tried to get the Crows to send another assassin after Elissa, Alistair and you, but they refused and informed them the first contract had been void as it had been against a Grey Warden during a Blight. Loghain reportedly killed the messenger. The Crows are not happy with him."

Solona's eyes were wider than ever. "He's making enemies on every front!"

Leliana agreed excitedly. "I know, and Howe is having to steal from his other lands to support Highever. In fact he has a shipment of silver in a hidden warehouse around the corner. Its lightly guarded because he doesn't want to draw attention to it. He's shipping it out tomorrow evening to pay his troops in Highever. Rumor has it they haven't been paid since taking the castle, and they are about to rebel too."

Solona laughed. "So if we take the shipment we can cripple Highever." She sobered. "Would Elissa approve? Her people are the ones who will suffer if we take that silver."

Leliana winced as she thought of the people of Highever. "They are going to suffer anyway. Howe isn't using that money for anything but his soldier's pay. I confirmed that first with Slim. He said Howe was heard gripping about how the Highever treasury was suppose to pay them and now he had to divert the silver for the yearly Alienage upgrades to his troops that took Highever before they handed it back to Elissa. He hasn't been caring for the Teyrn at all since he took it."

Solona sighed. "Let's take it then. We'll give it to this Slim to give to the Elves."

Leliana laughed and started to bounce. "I knew you'd say that, you are so much like Elissa."

The two began to laugh and were interrupted by the boys returning. "Did we get the wrong room?" Rory slurred slightly, he was obviously drunk. "I could have sworn I left two red-headed girls in bed already tonight."

Zevran chuckled lightly. "That you did my friend."

"Do I want to know?" Solona asked playfully, but she felt a twang of jealousy.

Zevran laughed louder as Leliana moved over so Rory could fall onto the bed. "I do!" She giggled suggestively.

Rory mumbled something about redheads on special and grabbed Leliana around the waist and pulled her down into a passionate kiss that made Solona gasp. She moved off the bed quickly to get out of the way. "I believe he's about to show her rather than tell her." Zevran said softly in Solona's ear.

Solona took one last look of longing at Rory and Leliana and slipped out the door with Zevran. "That was different!" She said with a strangled voice.

Zevran chuckled. "Our friend has had an entire bottle of Antivan Brandy, and worn out two of the Pearl's best whores."

Solona laugh sounded stranded, and it sounded fake as she hide her disappointment. It was one thing to know what was going on, and another to be told details. "Well good for him." She looked at the Elf and gave him a playful glare. "Can I trust you to sleep in my room without the need to kill you for touching me?"

"I will be the epitomy of virtue my darling Commander." He crooned suavely with a bow. He had noticed she was upset with Rory's conquests of the evening and decided to give out no more details.

She groaned softly, in part from frustration, her book had been getting very good when Leliana had interrupted. "And that was supposed to be reassuring?"

"Not at all my dear." He chuckled. "I am however a man of my word, and do not take advantage of my comrades in arms." He said more seriously.

She smiled at that. "I know that. Elissa has spoken highly of you. Her opinion carries great weight with me." She ushered him into her room. He gratefully followed and silently thanked Elissa for her kind words. He still wasn't used to people doing nice things without ulterior motives.

  


Elissa's afternoon had been anything but relaxing. Alistair was being as impossible as a bear with a sore paw about not being able to go into the city to the point where she retreated from their tent so she could relax. Morrigan was acting strangely suspicious of her when she handed over the book for her to read, but at least she was staying in her tent and away from Alistair, who in his current mood was likely to rip her head off, literally. The others were content but Elissa wanted to speak to Wynne about maybe staying behind at Soldier's Peak.

"Wynne can we talk?" Elissa asked her quietly.

The older woman smiled indulgently as Elissa stood by her side. "I was wondering how long it would take you to come see me about the fall."

"What happened?" She asked softly. "Can you still keep up? If not we can use you at either Soldier's Peak or at the training camps."

Wynne smiled at her. "Thank you for caring but I will be fine once I rest a bit more. These old bones aren't used to travelling on horseback as much as I have been, and the Deep Roads were long and hard. Let me tell you what really happened to me in the Circle when it fell."

Wynne explained about how she had been merged with the Fade spirit Faith just as she died. With the Spirit inside of her she had managed to push death aside and create the barrier to protect everyone behind it.

"Can you talk to Faith?" Elissa asked softly.

"No." Wynne said, her voice sounded a little sad and yet a little thankful too. "I get feelings, and I can feel her nudging me to ask questions or to keep quiet." She said with a hint of amusement when Elissa chuckled. "But no, not really, we don't talk but we can communicate." She said softly. "Most of my advice is my own, but I can feel if she approves or disapproves of my meddling."

"Does she approve of what we are doing?" Elissa asked, unsure of what she would say if the answer was negative.

"I think she was... concerned at first." She finally said as if considering her words carefully. "You seemed too angry and rage is easily manipulated." Wynne told her of the impressions she received from the spirit. "After the Deep Roads and getting to know Alistair better, and seeing you again when we returned... she had been happy with your actions."

Elissa nodded somewhat embarrassed by her temper prior to Orzammar. Her grief had made her worse than usual. "How much of your advice is prompted by her do you think?" she asked, uncertainly.

"I'd say about half." Wynne smiled at her fondly, "Often she makes her approval or disapproval of my own advice known too."

Elissa chuckled. "So, it's not just me that gets the third degree."

"Maker's Breath no!" Wynne laughed. "She has as much to 'say' about what I tell you and what I think you should know as I do for you and Alistair." She gave Elissa a caring look. "I never did mean to make it sound like I expected you to hurt him on purpose. I was just concerned that you had more experience and he might not understand it was a 'for the moment' relationship. I had no idea that you were so serious, Faith and I couldn't be happier for the both of you."

Elissa hugged the older woman. "Thank you. I knew that, but it's nice to hear."

"You are a good, kind and strong woman Elissa Cousland. Ferelden could not have been put in better hands then those of you and Alistair. You balance each other."

Elissa looked up with an intense look, silently asking and in need of reassurance. "How do you mean?" She asked with a hint of worry.

Wynne placed her hand on Elissa's and held it. "Your fire and his patience. His native to your political savvy. Your intensity to his humor. There are so many ways you both are the opposite and yet you are equal. He'll keep you on an even keel, and you'll do the same for him when it is needed."

"You really think so?" She asked with a light blush.

"Don't you think so my dear?" She chuckled.

Elissa nodded bashfully. "Yes. He was the first person to get me to smile after Highever fell. Over a week nothing anyone said could make me truly smile, and within moments he made me want to laugh. He wasn't even talking to us, he was being sassy at an enchanter."

Wynne chuckled. "Does he know that?"

Elissa thought back and realized she hadn't ever told him that. "No." She said looking towards their tent with a pensive smile. "I wonder why I haven't?"

"Maybe you should tell him. Make him feel better about not going into the city tonight." She suggested with her grandmotherly smile on her lips.

Elissa impulsively hugged the older woman again. "Thank you Wynne, and Faith." She said softly.

Wynne felt Faith's affection for the young queen fill her. "You are welcome, from both of us." Elissa bounced off to the tent she shared with Alistair while Wynne watched happily and slightly wistfully. She missed Greagoir, but she was content to be outside of the Tower.

Inside the tent Alistair was looking frustrated with his book when she came in. Her smile warmed his heart a bit but he was still out of sorts. "Good talk with Wynne?" He asked, not bothering to hide the irritation in his voice.

Elissa didn't let it get her down. She nodded and giggled softly. "She reminded me of something that I should have told you a long time ago but for some reason never did."

She had his full attention now. He put his book aside and she took advantage of his empty hands to climb up beside him on the sleeping furs he'd been lounging on. "What was it?" He asked more than a little curious.

"The first time we met in Ostagar. Listening to you sass that mage and then making that comment about the Blight bringing everyone together. Do you remember that?" She asked him with a goofy looking smile on her face.

Alistair was confused as to why she would bring that up. That whole conversation had both embarrassed him because of his comments regarding mages in front of the beautiful woman he was now in love with, but it had also scared him at the time that she'd instantly known who he was. "I do remember that conversation. Not fondly, but I remember it."

She smiled at him and kissed his cheek. "Well maybe this will change your mind about that conversation."

"What will?" He asked.

She leaned forward and kissed his cheek. "That was the first time I smiled for real at anyone since that night in Highever." Alistair looked completely stunned as she smiled at him lovingly once more. She placed her hand on his face with a gentle caress. He brought his own hand up trapping hers against his cheek and his mood softened.

"Did I really?" He chuckled. "I thought I had embarrassed myself."

"No but that was the moment I knew I could easily fall in love with you." She told him honestly. "I have never been as open or found it as easy to laugh with someone as I do with you."

"Don't you mean laugh at?" He teased her.

She kissed him lovingly and tenderly. "No, with you Alistair, never at you." She told him with her heart in her eyes.

"Thank you." He whispered before he returned the tender kiss. "I don't know what I did to deserve you but I am never letting you go, My Love." He whispered.

"It simple Alistair. You stayed true to yourself and despite what people said you do what you think is right." She told him. "Your heart and character are the person I fell in love with." He didn't know what to say to that so he kissed her to show her how much her words meant to him.

  


Leliana and Rory were late for breakfast, but were both ready for the activities of the day. Though neither was paying the other any attention, it made her wonder what had happened between them but she was afraid to ask, and more than a little jealous that Rory seemed to prefer redheads.

They decided to do both the visit to Brother Genitivi and the complete the heist against Howe before going back to Elissa. By sitting in the main dining area of the Tavern they'd been able to pick up on quite a bit of the rumor-mill and getting a notion of which way the nobles were leaning.

Some of the nobles had already figured out Elissa was alive, hiding with the missing Wardens, and that she was building an army. Quite a few were openly willing to support her. Most were waiting to hear from Arl Eamon. The rumor of his illness had reach Denerim, but so had the news that he was stable. Loghain had very little true support, Howe had even less. Most of the nobles were angry at the fall of Highever, and none of the nobles who had been loyal to the Cousland's believed the charges of the family working for Orlais.

Rory had been recognized by one noble and pulled aside to be asked a few questions, when he got back to the group he looked determined and very angry. "We need to leave quickly and get done in the city as soon as possible." He told tersely as they began to gather all their supplies. once they left the tavern they wouldn't be returning.

"What's happened?" Solona asked urgently.

"Loghain executed my father, and my older brothers for harboring fugitives." Rory said angrily. His fists tightened as he tried to keep his voice quiet and steady. "Ser Silverstone just told me my father's seneschal is holding the land for now, but that Loghain plans to take the Bann as retribution."

"Who was he suppose to have harbored?" Zevran asked looking surprised. Nobles of Ferelden were not known for acting the way Howe and Loghain did, this was much more an Antivan style of The Game.

"Me!" Rory snarled, seething with rage. No one asked anymore questions after that, not that Rory looked like he would be willing answer any.

They left quickly and crossed the street. With the mood of the group they weren't really in the mood to deal with the sketchy behavior of Genitivi's apprentice. It didn't take long for them to figure out the truth, going through the house made it obvious that some type of Cult to Andraste was protecting the Urn and it was in the Frostback Mountains to the south of Orzammar. The clues to find the actual location of their home, a place called Haven, was located luckily enough at The Spoiled Princess.

From the house they moved directly to the warehouse. Leliana and Zevran went in first and unlocked the door and scouted out the resistance. With only four guards the two rogues were able to get two on their own and Rory took the other two. Solona stayed back to let him vent some more of his anger. Afterward they quickly took the silver to Slim on the way out of town.

"I am glad to see this." He said quite surprised to see all four of them as he'd only dealt with Leliana the day before. "I have another job if you are interested?"

"Not right now. We need to leave Denerim." Solona said quickly. She made a snap decision and pulled Slim to the side. "If you can gather anything on Loghain or Howe that can be used against them politically I would be very grateful when we return. The Wardens are supporting Cailan's heir."

Slim gasped and nodded quickly. "Cailan had an heir?"

Solona nodded slowly, she wasn't sure about this but she had to try her hand at The Game at some point. "An of-age heir at that... I am Warden-Commander Solona Amell. Make sure the word spreads, Cailin's Heir lives."

He nodded with a looked of vindictive glee. "Of course my Lady Commander." He said thankfully as she pressed their share of the silver haul back into his hands.

"This rightful belongs to the elves, please see they get it." She told him, grateful that he was an honest sort of criminal, as strange as that sounded in her head.

He gave her a true smile. "Is Cailan's heir as honest as you?" His face lit with hope.

She laughed openly. "More than I am but also prepared to rule as feircely as Maric. We hopefully will be returning with either Arl Eamon or his brother Teagan to propose a Landsmeet soon."

"Then he is worth supporting." He saluted her as she turned to leave. "You'll have the elves support for this. There are no better spies in Denerim." He whispered. "And I will watch for your return my Lady."

She turned back for a moment. "Their intelligence on the nobles is more valuable than gold to us at the moment." She was careful not to identify Cailan's heir as Elissa. No need for that information to be leaked to any possible double agents. "We'll compensate them well for helping us. That is a promise I will personally see to if Cailan's heir does not. Though that is something I am sure will be a priority."

  


It was only midday when they returned and gathered the rest of the group. Solona and Rory informed Elissa and Alistair of the goings on in Denerim as they rode hard for Soldier's Peak. It was a two full day trip, but they needed to make as much as time up as they could, and get Rory as far from Denerim as possible since they were now looking for him too.

They were going to leave Jowan at the Peak and head as fast as possible to the Spoiled Princess to see if they could pick up the clues that pointed to Haven. Elissa also wanted to check in on Cara. So only Elissa, Solona, Alistair and Jowan moved on to the Keep.

It was well after dark by the time they arrived. The ride was much faster with the wagons at the other end of the trail, and half the group to act as guards. The road had been widened to the point where they could have passed through with ease. Ellisa made a note of it for the future.

Cara was standing with Levi's brother Mikhael as they rode in. She looked beyond happy and content. The man whom Elissa remembered as being surly was also looking quite happy to see them. "Welcome back Commanders." She said with some amusement to both Solona and Elissa.

"Hi Cara. How have things been?" Elissa greeted her with a welcoming smile of her own.

Cara winced. "The old mage is unbearable, but I only spend mornings with him, and the afternoons working on stockpiling." She told them. "I have a large supply of health potions to go out with the next run to the army."

"You should see the potions lab she has now, and the drying room for the herbs." Mikhael said with some pride. "She also found us a huge supply of Iron and silverite deposits. I wouldn't be surprised if the silverite runs deep into the mountain."

Elissa was blown away. It was much more than she'd ever expected. "I'm sure I'll be very surprised. We brought you some help, once he goes through the joining." She gestured for Jowan to come forward. Cara's eyes widened when she saw who it was, but as rumors hadn't reach this far north she had no idea what he'd done beyond escaping the Tower.

"Jowan actually studied Blood Magic briefly so we thought he could help work with Avernus, and you with your work." Solona said carefully. "Would you be able to show him to a room, since he'll be staying."

Cara only nodded her understanding, and held out her hand to Jowan to welcome him. "Of course. Come along Jowan I'll put you in the rooms near to the labs so you'll have some privacy. It's the best guest room we managed to make so far." He hesitated, but with an encouraging nod from Solona he walked forward, and allowed her to show him inside.

"He's a blood mage?" Mikhael asked mildly.

"Like Cara he was manipulated into it by Uldred, and he hasn't used it since leaving the Circle tower." Solona said slightly defensive.

Mikhael nodded calmly. "I'll keep that news from Levi, and just say he's a warden mage you sent to help Cara to keep the old man in line. That will make him feel better. The old man unnerves him."

"You're ok with all this?" Solona asked, her curiosity aroused by his calm acceptance.

He just shrugged and keep his eyes steady as he looked at her. "Cara explained about the Circle and Uldred. To be honest I love her, so I really don't care as long as she doesn't do it anymore. I'll accept her, and his word, that they are no longer practicing blood magic. Besides there are more important things to worry about, like the Blight." He stare was almost daring her to object.

Elissa smiled and clapped with delight. "I also wanted to thank you for the wonderful work you did on the sword and daggers. They are flawless! And the armor has been just as amazing."

Her obvious joy was unexpected but helped relieve the man as he puffed up with pride at mention of his work and he flushed with pride. "Thank you, working that metal was a better experience than working Fade-Touch metals." He looked a little nervous. "Speaking of Fade-Touched metals, quite a bit of the surface silverite is Fade-Touched. I made a front herald plate for your armor Commander." He said. "I hope you'll let me place it for you."

Solona gapped at him for a moment. "That would be wonderful!" She gasped astonished that someone would do something like that for her.

"Cara mentioned that the metal of your armor was very light weight, so I used the least amount of weight possible to create the Commander's Double-Headed Griffin front plate embossment." He explained as he walked them over to his smith stand. He pulled out the piece, it was a work of art, literally. He handed her the cloth wrapped piece.

She couldn't help but gasp as she unwrapped the piece. It was a perfect replica of the commander armor piece of Sophia Dryden's, including the gold embellishments and the dark blue tinting to make the piece have shadow and depth. "How would you set it into the armor?" Solona said breathlessly, the work was a wonder.

He chuckled. "I can't tell you that, but if you leave the breastplate I can get it done by morning, and you'll never know the armor ever was without it."

Solona laughed. "Deal!" She quickly took the breastplate off and handed it over.

Elissa, Solona and Alistair had taken the time to inspect the stockpiles of stone, weapons, lumber and herbs. It was very impressive considering how many people were present. Elissa also took the time to speak to Levi and explained about the ex-werewolf population that would be arriving shortly. He was happy for the help, but a bit wary of the idea of ex-weres. Still he took the news well and set the current inhabitence to setting up extra barrack rooms for the people to sleep in until they managed to renovate more of the Keep. It had been large enough for upwards of over two hundred wardens and their support staff so they had the rooms, they just were neglected and some needed new roofs or floors before being declared safe enough to be lived in. He had also fixed the treasury room and placed their belongings they had left behind inside. Even Cailan's now repaired armor, shield and sword stood gleaming on its own armor stand.

The three called it an early evening because of the speed they had travelled and the call of a soft bed was too much to resist. Not needing watches, having warm beds and real food helped to get them all sleep quickly and deeply.

It was a regal looking Warden-Commander who said a tearful goodbye to her newest Warden the next morning. Solona had insisted on putting Jowan through the Joining before leaving. Even with the flower it had been a close call. Jowan had stopped breathing for several seconds and Solona had hit him with a heavy healing spell before he stopped turning blue and woken like all the others to his new life as a Warden of Ferelden. Jowan was now wearing the blue and silver of a Warden mage and with his haircut very short and purpose straightening his spine, he looked nothing like her old friend from the Tower, except his eyes which told her he was worried for her.

"Take care my friend." Jowan said tearfully as he hugged her tight. "I can't thank you enough for this chance. I'll never let you down again, I swear!"

She smiled at him. "I know. And I'll never let you down either." She bit her lip pausing. "I'm sorry I betrayed your trust too. I was only--" He put a finger over her mouth to stop her from continuing with her apology.

"I know you were trying to protect me, like you always did." He whispered. He kissed her cheek. "Alistair says that you are really my sister now instead of just being the one I always wished I'd had. I think it's time I act the big brother for a change, being older than you and all." He gave her a sad smile. "Maker bless and keep you my sister! You can depend on me to oversee things here with your oldest Warden, and to help Cara as she needs." He vowed.

"Thank you my brother." She gave him the same sad look, and turned to her horse for the trip back. After she was in the saddle she turned back. "I'm still sorry!"

He rolled his eyes. "Your forgiven, now get out of here!" He yelled with a chuckle in his voice.

"Is this really wise? Leaving all our recovering blood mages near the oldest most powerful blood mage we know of?" Alistair asked worried as they passed through the gates.

Solona nodded with certainty. "Yes. I'd be more worried if we were leaving people without experience. If Avernus tries anything on them, they will know."

Alistair nodded thoughtfully. "I didn't know it felt different than regular magic."

"Everyone's magic is personal, a part of them. So when blood is added, there is a taint to it, like the taint in our blood, it could make others sick if they were to come in contact with it in large quantities. Blood magic has that same sickening feeling to it when mages feel each other's magic." Solona explained remembering the feel of corruption in Jowan's magic when he'd cast the binding spell on her as he escaped. It had felt like her best friend and yet it had a dark, cold, evil feeling in it that Jowan's magic didn't normally have.

Elissa recalled feeling Anders magic and thinking it felt different from Solona's. "Can non-mages feel the difference in magic?"

Solona nodded very carefully, which alerted Elissa to the fact that it was a taboo topic normally for mages to discuss with outsiders. "Yes, but only if they are magic sensitive."

"Let me guess. Magic isn't something you are either born with or not." Elissa said dryly, referring to the Chantry's teaching about the dangers of magic, and how only mages could access the Fade. Elissa didn't believe that because everyone dreamed and dreams happened in the Fade.

Solona nodded. "Whether you're a mage or not seems to have more to do with if someone has an amount of magic over a certain threshold, rather than a complete lack or magic or not."

Alistair perked up and sat straighter in his saddle. "That's something I heard before during training. It one of the reasons why each Templar needs to control their own doses of lyrium, some don't need as much as others to access their abilities." Alistair added thoughtfully. "The less lyrium needed, the more magic a person is suspected of having. Taking tiny doses is considered a bad thing among the Templars."

Elissa looked concerned. "But you and I don't need any Lyrium to use our abilities."

"You're half Amell." Solona pointed out to her. "You've got very strong magical bloodlines, so the magic in your blood is likely on the very high side of the non-magic threshold."

"That's true."Elissa said reflectively. "But what about Alistair? He's more powerful than I am at his abilities." Alistair managed to look curious without being upset, which made Elissa wonder if he'd already figured this part out before. He's tendency to play stupid sometimes annoyed her when it came to subjects like this. How powerful he could be wasn't something he should be hiding.

Solona shrugged but her eyes betrayed her own curiosity about the ability Alistair showed. For him not to need lyrium at all, and still be as powerful as any Templar she'd ever met. That meant he had to be very near the threshold between mage and non-mage or lying about taking lyrium, which she knew he wasn't. If he'd taken it she's be able to sense it. Lyrium lingered in the system for upwards of a year. Withdrawl was painful and fatal. "Myth says the Theirin bloodline has dragon blood in it. " She laughed softly, Alistair and Elissa joined in. "More likely his mother had high magic levels in her bloodline, like ours. Or Maric did, who knows?"

"How does one get dragon blood in their bloodline?" Alistair asked disgusted and discreetly changing the subject in such as way as both never noticed. "That's just.... yuck."

Solona and Elissa burst out laughing. "I don't know Alistair." Solona joked. "Maybe your ancestors had a thing for fire-breathing reptiles. Or they were Reavers."

"Reavers are the dragon blood drinkers aren't they?" Elissa asked looking for confirmation, she'd read something about that as a teenager with Rory when they were looking into his family connection to Hunter's Fell. His family had come to Ferelden before the occupation by Orlais, but he still had distant family there in Nevarra.

"Yeah, kind of like Oghren, they are a scary kind of berserker." Solona explained. "Nothing at all like Alistair."

"I am so not talking about this anymore." He grumbled as they continued to laugh. Inside he breathed a little easier now that they weren't wondering about his mother anymore. When people mentioned magic and his mother it made his skin crawl. It would just be his luck for his mother to have been an apostate hiding as a maid in Redcliffe.

  


It took two more days to get to the Spoiled Princess, and find the map to Haven that had been left for Brother Genitivi, which he did not take with him but had left for his dead apprentice. The idea seemed a little too convenient for Solona and Elissa, but they couldn't be picky right now. It was four days ride without the wagon. It was decided that Sten, Oghren and Morrigan would stay with the wagon and follow more slowly. Morrigan was grateful, she'd been very quiet since being given the book and she was getting to the part where her fate was being discussed, Solona thought she might not want too many of the others around when she got to that point.

She and Morrigan had discussed the book and why it had taken them so long to give it to her. Solona explained that she'd wanted to look through it to see what Flemeth might have said about prophecies and had taken it into the Deep Roads with her. There had been so many things going on after their return that she'd put it off until Morrigan would have time to look at it because she would need time. Once she got over her normal prickly response to anyone doing something remotely nice for her Morrigan had been grateful for the book and the mirror Solona had found for her.

The rest were going to ride out quickly to get to Haven as fast as possible. It only took four days with quick riding even with the snow as it was well into winter now. It was now a little more than two weeks before First Day. Elissa hoped they would be done in time so they would be able to celebrate a holiday together someplace safe.

Haven was an extremely unfriendly town, which was odd. The bloody alter in one house, and finding the body in the back of the shop made them ready for anything, including the town turning on them once they entered the 'Chantry', resulting in a slaughter of the majority of the town. The rest fled the town; the warriors towards the mountains and the non-combatants like children and care-givers to a series of caves to the west.

They searched the Chantry carefully and found a rather large stash of money, burn slaves, health, and lyrium potions. The amulet around the villager's Father Eirik was not Chantry approved Andrastian so Leliana made sure to pocket it for the group. She was sure it would be needed, it called to her senses as a rogue in a way nothing on this quest had until now.

It was decided by the group to sleep in the Chantry when Leliana once more felt drawn to the wall to her right. In almost a trace like state she felt along the wall until she found the latch to the hidden doorway. Inside was a large library and the tortured but alive Brother Genitivi. He'd had his leg broken, been deprived of food and given little water for weeks, and it was obviously he was in a great deal of pain.

Solona and Wynne had patched him up and with a few days of rest he'd be perfectly alright physically. In a few days the bone would be as strong as it ever had been and his body would recover from the depravation of sleep.

They'd found dozens of books on dragons, some of the tomes were very old and rare. That was giving the group a very bad feeling which only got worse when Genitivi confirmed that they group was likely a dragon cult ad not just any cult, but the descendents of the guards of Andraste's mortal remains. There was a temple hidden about half an hour up a mountain pass that housed the Shrine and inside was the Urn of Sacred Ashes.

"Wait, so you're telling me you actually found the ashes?" Alistair stared at him unbelieving. Most of the party also had looks of complete disbelief. Leliana dropped to her knees in thankful prayer.

The older man blinked in confusion. "Of course... Isn't that why you are here? To find the Ashes yourselves?"

Elissa let her head fall back and stared at the roof for a moment to collect her thoughts. The idea that they'd actually found the Shrine of Andraste nearly caused her thoughts to come to a screeching halt. Most of the others were no better off.

"Honestly? We expected to find you dead, and the idea of the Ashes being a myth still." Alistair said bluntly.

"How do you know the ashes are those of Andraste?" Solona asked, still reeling herself.

"The cultists have been protecting the temple and it's treasures for over nine hundred years." Genitivi said reverently. "They have killed all who come here, keeping the temple and her secrets from the outside world."

"They are also mad and seem to think Andraste is now a High Dragon." Rory said skeptically.

"Yes they do, but they have been here for so long protecting the Ashes, things like this happen to isolated groups over time." Genitivi said, trying to convince them the Urn was real.

Leliana stood and looked towards Elissa knowing this would be her call since it was about Arl Eamon, and not the Blight. The Command structure of the party was strange but made sense in that way. If it was about Ferelden, the call was Elissa's to make. If it was about the Blight however, it was now Solona's call. In this case it was Elissa who stood forward.

"You are twisting the facts to come to the conclusion you want it to be." When he went to protest Elissa held up her hand. "We came this far, we will see if there is any truth to the claim, but you are not going with us." She said sternly. Genitivi tried to protest but Elissa shut him down. "Can you use a sword? Daggers? How about magic?"

"No, of course not!" He said indignantly. "I'm a scholar! I've written books..."

"You are useless to us as we search the ruins for cultists that will have had time to setup traps and a High Dragon." She pinned him to the bed with her stare. "Or would you rather be dragon food?"

The others began to snicker a little but Genitivi looked hopeless, like someone had taken everything from him. "Let us check it out and make sure it's safe and there is actually something there before you going charging up the mountain to get yourself killed chasing after what might be an empty ruin." Elissa said more diplomatically than she felt. "Let us at least deal with the dragon before you come up." She argued reasonably.

He finally relented in the face of their combined logical arguments. The group bedded down for the night and slept as well as they could, knowing the next day they would possibly be facing a High Dragon.

  


Leliana was the most excited of them all when they reached the doors leading into the Temple. Looking at the recessed door she pulled out the amulet. Looking at the design of the door it was obvious now that the necklace's pendent was a key. She slipped it into place and turned it, the click and ease of the door silently opening told them all the door was newer than the temple and was well maintained.

"Once more into the breach my friends." Rory said ominously.

Solona and Elissa both shivered at this words but entered the building together. Inside the broken windows had allowed the weather to blow in drifts of snow. Even with the snow piled about the room, the beauty of the room was subtle but none the less so well crafted that it had stood ages and still looked as if it was only a century old instead of it's near millennium milestone.

The front area was done in the Imperial style of all the architecture of that time period, but the wall carvings were distinctively Alamarri. Looking at the writings Wynne was amazed by her ability to understand the basic information being laid out by the carvings. She knew it was actual Faith who was reading the carvings, but the impressions were being passed on to her. She knew Faith was very happy to see the story pressed into the walls.

Leliana was too enthralled by the carvings. "These are amazing!" She whispered in complete awe. " I believe this is the true story of Andraste's life! Made even before the Chantry was formed!" She held a trembling hand towards the carving nearest to her but not daring to actual touch the markings.

Elissa was looking around in awe, but not in wonder but in dread. She could only see two outcomes of finding this Shrine. Both outcomes would depend on if the cravings supported the Chantry's versions of events or not. If it did, the Chantry, and as a result Orlais, would try even harder to control this portion of Ferelden, or at least lay claim to it. If not, then they would want to destroy the scared walls and take the Urn back to Val Royeaux to place it in the Divine's chapel. Either way Orlais would want to invade this place and as Queen of a Blighted country she was not going to be able to fight the might of the Chantry. They might even call for an Exalted March against Ferelden so they could take the Temple, either to capture it for themselves, or destroy it for heresy.

Alistair saw the look of fear on her face, but it was Shale who clued them all into the likelihood of the Chantry's true motives if the place was found. "I wonder what your Chantry will do with the knowledge that Andraste was a mage of great power?" Shale said curiously as she stared at one of the last images near the first of many hallways.

The entire group turned to her in shock. "What?" Solona manage to gasp out first. "You can read this?"

Shale looked annoyed by the question. "Of course I can read this. It is common from my time to know the written language of our most prolific trading partners. The Alamarri were good trade partners. They were always at war with someone, they needed many weapons and armor, metals and such." Shale's memories had been resurfacing since the trip to the Deep Roads, but none of them had realized the extent of the knowledge she had recovered.

Elissa was truly frightened now. "Shale can you stay here and translate all this for us while we investigate the ruins."

Solona stared openly at her. "Do you realized what this means?" She was hyperventilating at the thought that Andraste had been a mage like herself. "Andraste never called for mages to be imprisoned!"

Elissa glared at her with overpowering rage and fear. "Yes, it means if the Chantry ever find this place as Genitivi intends, Ferelden will be facing an Exalted March so they can protect their power."

Everyone stopped admiring the carvings to suddenly look at them with fear. "Maybe we should make sure the Chantry never finds out about this place, no?" Zevran spoke up slowly.

"You're talking about silencing Brother Genitivi?" Alistair questioned with anger. "The man has done nothing wrong."

Elissa was trembling. "He's a danger to Ferelden." She said in real distress.

Alistair turned to voice his anger at her when he saw her for the first time looking like she was feeling true terror. He ran to her and pulled her close. "No, we will reason with him first." He told her in a soothing voice and he rocked her back and forth and kissed her temple and forehead, trying to calm her.

Rory took a deep breath. "Maybe we can convince him this group was just delusional. It should be rather easy to do. Just tell him that it was just an old Tevinter ruin they decided to build their delusion around."

Leliana looked torn. "But this is so important!" She cried. "It is the Holy Resting place of Andraste!"

Solona turned to her with her eyes filled with anger. "And how many would die if we let the world learn of it Leliana?" She looked down at her boots. "The Chantry has already killed hundreds of thousands of mages over the ages so they could control the magic in Thedas. How much blood do you think the Chantry would spill to keep that control? How many people do you think would question the Chant of Light if they knew Andraste herself was one of us. Mages are an evil that needs to be locked up for the protection of the good people whom the Maker was suppose to favor over mages." She ranted passionately. "But the Maker's Bride herself being one of us? What would _your Chantry_ _do to hide that_ Leliana?"

Leliana looked completely gutted. "But this is the truth!" She gestured to the walls.

Elissa wipe her eyes while still clinging to Alistair when she turned her head and looked back at Leliana sadly. "The truth doesn't matter to those whom their power rests on the lies of the past." Everyone was too sobered by the discovery.

"We should get moving, there are the cultists and the High Dragon to see to, as well as the traps there is sure to be in this ruin to protect the actual Urn itself." Rory pointed out but he waited until Elissa managed to steady herself without Alistair's support to lead them out of the hall.

  


Unlike most of their adventures to date, this one was quiet. There was barely any banter between the party members and even the dogs were affected, between battles they seemed to need reassurance that they were doing well from both their masters. Alistair spent a great deal of time watching Elissa as she battled with her options. He knew his negative opinion about using assassination was weighing heavily on her because she had actually considered it for at least a moment. He knew her well enough now that while she often considered evil options she would never use, except as a last resort to save the people she was sworn to defend. In this case it was the easiest and most secure way to hide the Temple of Sacred Ashes from the Chantry, but it would also be a last resort for her.

They managed to kill all the cultists so far with the Reavers being the only trouble they'd had to that point. Looking at the bodies Alistair shivered. "You don't think this could be where the legends come from do you?" He looked at Solona. "My ancestors being Reavers?"

Solona looked thoughtful. "It would make the most sense."

Rory nodded too. "Yours isn't the only Royal line on Thedas with rumors of Dragon Blood in it Alistair." He told him. "My family was originally from Hunters Fell in Nevarra. The Royal Line of the Pentaghast Dragon Hunters were well known for being Reavers in the past and there are rumors that it is still a practice the Dragon hunting portion of the family still employs."

Wynne sighed as she closed the eyes of the reaver closest to her. "I am going to assume the amount of reavers being thrown at us is confirmation of the defenders being an actual Dragon Cult."

Rory swore a vicious blue streak that was meant to be under his breath, although even Elissa who had heard it before was blushing. Oghran would have been proud. "That means we really are likely to being facing a damn High Dragon before the end of all this." He finally spat out once he was finished venting.

"Worst than that, it is likely the cultists have been feeding the Dragon." Zevran pointed out, "We don't know what they have been feeding it, or how it is called to its feedings."

"That's a very good point." Alistair said quietly. "We should be careful of doing anything that might bring the swooping dragon down on our heads."

"Because swooping is bad." Solona, Rory, Leliana and Elissa managed to quote back at him in unison. Wynne snickered softly trying to hide it from Alistair who was looking a little put out.

"Name one thing that swoops that isn't bad!" Alistair whined defensively sounding so much like a pouting little boy that the tension that had been affecting them all broke and they shared a laugh over his playful antics before moving on.

The next room was filled with traps and archers, the following room had the beginning of a series of rooms guarded by ash warriors, reavers, and mages that leaded to the deeper areas of the temple. Leliana had been fascinated by the statue of Andraste's husband Maferath and the fact that statue was in her tomb at all.

"I don't understand why they would honor him here!" She cried incredulous at the stone figure.

Faith bristled within Wynne making Wynne feel inclined to say something in defense of the man. "He was not only her husband and general but also a large part of her life. Without him, her story is missing some of its lessons." Faith was not happy with her explanation but without knowing what the spirit was upset about she couldn't defend the man better.

This area was badly damaged, broken columns and floors leading into underground caverns behind the Temple burrowed into the mountain. In the caverns they began to find the baby dragons being cared for by the cultists. Followed soon by the young drake male dragons. Solona insisted they salvage as many of the scales as they could. even further in they found the feeding chambers for the larger drakes.

"At least this is good practice for killing the High Dragon." Zevran said with a chuckle as they took a break after killing a large group of drakes and finding the nest full of eggs which they destroyed, while Wynne and Solona looked over the books the cultists were using. It was a lame attempt at humor, they were all too tired to really tease one another. Solona let them rest for nearly a full hour before they set off once more.

The caves rose up and seemed to come up under the foundations of the Temple above, opening into a large open space. The exit on the far side of the room was lighted by daylight. In the large area between the party and the daylight stood a man in chainmail surrounded by fifteen men, half armed with bows. Wynne and Solona both prepared to cast massive barriers.

"Stop! You will go no further!" He man yelled at them. From his stance and his commanding presence it was easy to see the man was a veteran fighting soldier. His armor was clean but well used and in good condition. His men were also similarly dressed.

Elissa stepped forward as Solona was pulling as much mana into herself as possible without tipping anyone off by making herself glow with power, Wynne was following her example and both were hiding behind Rory and Alistair to help hide it.

"And who are you? Mercenary or scavenger?" She mocked.

The man's face twisted slightly with contempt. "You do not have the right to demand my name woman. We are not the scavengers here! You have defiled our temple, spilled the blood of the faithful and slaughtered our young!"

Elissa laughed. "Your young? You fathered a dragon did you?"

He charged forward to bring himself into striking distance, but kept his sword in his sheath. "Tell me why you are here interloper!" He demanded. "Why are you trespassing on our temple grounds!"

"We are here for the Urn." She told him simply, she nearly crossed her arms in defiance but instead tightened her hold on her shield so she would be prepared to shield bash him back long enough for her to pull her sword that she discreetly placed her hand on at her side.

He looked at her in confusion and took two steps back. His face morphed to sorrow. "You caused all this death just for an ancient relic?"

Elissa shrugged as placid as she could. "Wars have been fought for less."

The man looked at her more carefully now as if she sensed something regarding her, his eyes lit up a little with recognition. "You should know the prophet Andraste has overcome death and has returned to her faithful, she is more radiant than you can imagine. But you know of what I speak, you and the warrior on your right." He said, gesturing to Alistair.

It was Elissa's turn to be confused. "I have no idea what you mean." Alistair too looked confused.

He looked between the two. "It's like that, is it. No matter. Andraste has revealed herself to us, because we are the chosen, we who are descended from her most holy advisors!" He yelled, his voice taking on the fervor of a Battle Cry.

Elissa used that moment to Shield Bash him and pull her sword. Wynne and Solona instantly put the barriers up and the arrows from the archers bounced off the glowing green shields. Elissa, Rory and Alistair worked as a wall of shining unbreakable death. Solona began casting long distance fireballs to break up the archer formations. Wynne kept watch on the barriers trying to keep the others covered, while Solona worked as a sniper taking them down once her area of effect spells where no long effective. Leliana was doing her best to take out as many archers as she could without exposing herself to return fire. Zevran was just gone, but the cried of the dying on the other side of the cave told a different story as to where he had gone. There were at least two mages that never got a chance to cast spells at the party. The dogs too were doing their part, both charging and working together to strike terror and fear in the archers before dragging them down for fatal bites to the head and neck. Once the leader was down the other fighters seemed to lose faith and were quickly disposed of.

They did need to take the time to heal some of their wounds, while the arrows didn't hit them the swords from the fighters had managed to find a few easy marks on both Rory and Alistair since they were on the outside of the shield wall.

Within the loot was a large horn. Alistair had picked it up and was looking at it intently. Just as he was about to bring it up to his mouth as if to test it out Solona grabbed Alistair by the ear and dragged him down to her eye level. "We do not blow the horn of death." She glared at him.

"Owowowooo." Alistair wailed. "Ok, Ok, I get it. No blowing the horn of death... Now let go."

Zevran was covering his ears with his hands, his eyes opened wide in commiseration, but the rest of them were laughing. "What in Andraste's flaming ass were you thinking?" Rory finally asked.

"I was just wondering how loud it was." He grumbled. "I wasn't going to see how loud I could blow it, just see how loud it was with a little breath."

"We are underground, and the man was talking about his pet High Dragon named Andraste. What did you think the horn was for?" Solona cried out exasperated with Alistair's antics.

"Calling or answering the people of Haven in case of trouble actually." He said a little bashfully. He hadn't thought of the horn being used to call dragon like a dinner bell.

Rory agreed with Alistair to make him feel better."It could have been for that." He admitted, making Alistair feel a little better for not being outside the realm of possibilities. "But not likely with that opening right there. What do you want to bet that leads to area the damn thing lives in?"

"We should get Shale to join us if we are going to fight the damn thing." Solona whined and kicked at some lose rocks. "I really don't want to fight a High Dragon."

"It would be good practice for when we fight the Archdemon." Rory said thoughtfully. He'd been thinking about that for a while. Going against the Archdemon without a chance to fight a real dragon would mean large casualties and they didn't have a lot of Wardens to sacrifice at the moment.

"I'll go get her." Leliana volunteered eagerly.

"I shall go with her, yes? Safety in numbers my fellow rogue." Zevran said to Leliana with a courtly bow. She giggled but took his arm and they walked away together. Rory watched her go for a moment before he turned back to Alistair, Solona, Wynne and Elissa.

"What do we know about dragons, everyone?" He asked.

They spent over half an hour planning how they were going to assault the dragon. The plan seemed a little too straight forward to Solona but she wasn't used to fighting things as big as dragons. The drakes in the caves behind them were the largest creature she had ever fought, except darkspawn ogres. Once Shale and the others returned they went over the plan again.

Walking out into the open was nerve-racking for the whole party, even Shale was feeling squishy when compared to a High Dragon. They heard her before they saw her, and smelled her before they heard her, the sulfurous rank being so thick almost as to physically slow their steps. Flying over their heads to a cliff on the far side, she was too high up for Alistair or Shale whom had the job to keep her attention while everyone else tried their best to kill the dragon or heal the party as they became battered. The dragon however looked as if she was set to sleep in the sun.

Leliana and Zevran trapped the area with freeze traps, while Wynne and Solona prepared the team with fire resistance warming balms while it slumbered. Shale switched out her nature green crystals for the red fire resistance and the cold damage ones. Once everything was in place the group got close to the cliff face and the party took positions. The Dragon would land in the central point of the traps, causing untold damage to the dragon's armor and softer underbelly. Shale would draw it's attention and Wynne and Solona would stand back casting barriers on her as she drew the dragon's attention from the others. Solona had lent her daggers to Zevran, so he would be able to damage the underbelly and legs joints with ease. Solona prepared to cast her ice storm spell to wake the beast.

The battle went pretty much as planned until Elissa pushed Alistair out of the way as the dragon made a grab for him. She moved him out of the way only for the dragon to grab her instead. Solona froze as she watched the dragon raise Elissa's pinned body up to its mouth. There was a bright glow around Elissa as the dragon transferred her to her mouth and shook her like a ragdoll then spit her out towards the rocks where she lay unmoving. Solona and Wynne both ran for her, but Alistair who had gotten up from where Elissa had pushed him had seen what happened.

Alistair felt something shatter in him that hadn't happened even when he lost everyone he'd known at Ostagar. In his chest, where he believed his soul resided, ruptured with pain so intense it nearly staggered him, it was followed by the fiercest rage he had ever felt,. Deep in his eyes a red glow ignited. His scream of fury drew the dragon's complete focus as Alistair charged it. The dragon's movements seemed slowed and Alistair was able to twist around it's attacking front claws. His spin added momentum to his sword as Alistair rammed it deeply near the center of the dragon's chest. It bit in deeply into the muscle between the breastbone and two ribs. The sword sank more than halfway towards the hilt, the hide so damaged from the traps earlier that its armor flaked away like leaves in the fall as he plunged the blade in. He set his shield against the body to give him extra leverage and cleaved the sword sideways along the rib, sawing through muscle and tissue with rage fuelled strength. The display of strength and rage took Solona's breath away. The runes on his sword flared even stronger and made the star-metal sword named Starfang glow. She fired off a frost weapon spell to add to the damage he was doing, not that he needed it because at that moment his sword slashed through the outer muscle of the dragon's heart.

Blood gushed from the wound with blinding speed and force. Alistair was literally covered from head to foot with the blackened blood of the dragon as was the area all around him. The dragon let out one last gasp of breath before it staggered off to one side, tearing Alistair's sword from its body and fell to the ground. It's wings fell limply to the valley floor blowing out a light breeze of dust over the other companions. It took one last breath and then the body finally fell dead and it's eyes clouded over lifeless, all at Alistair's feet. No one made a sound except Wynne and Solona who were both now casting healing spells as fast as they could on Elissa.

Alistair let go of his shield and Starfang dropped from his nerveless fingers. He ripped his helmet off, throwing it to the ground, and ran over to where everyone was now moving to gather around. "ELISSA!" He howled out in anguish. His wail chilled Solona to the bone, she'd never heard terror, agony and loss combined into such a sound before, not even in her worst taint inspired nightmare.

Rory instantly fell to his knees and was holding his head whimpering his own grief as the sound echoed in his mind, the sound was too much like that night in Highever, drawing him into his memories. Leliana, Zevran and Shale stood to the side not knowing what to do but staying out of the way of the two men and the two healers. Leliana threw her arms around Zevran hiding her face in his shoulder, Shale brought a hand up to the bard's back and hung her own head a little, and Zevran's shock was so great that he just absently brought his hand up to comfort them both. They all waited and listened with their own fear for Elissa's life. Rory just sat on the ground hugging his knees staring vacuously at them as they worked.

Alistair fell to his knees by her head while Wynne and Solona kneeled by her sides still casting. He carefully removed her helmet trying not to move her too much but needing to see her face. She face was dirty with dust and dragon saliva, and her long hair was still wrapped in its braid around her head, the way she always had it in her helm. Her face was scrunched up with pain while she lay there unconscious. He could see her chest still rising and falling with each wet painful breath.

"Please don't you die on me too. I can't live without you." He cried, his tears flowing down his cheeks quickly, leaving whitened streaks in the blood splattered on his face. His blood mixed tears fell on her forehead, and he moved to wipe them away but only succeeding to get more blood on her as his hands too were still drenched. He ripped the gauntlets off with a roar of angry fear and threw them away before his fingers tenderly began to stroke her cheek once more.

"Please 'Lis you have to wake up. I can't do any of this without you. I have no hope without you." He placed his forehead against hers weeping harder now.

Wynne leaned away from Elissa, falling prone beside her, completely exhausted. "There is nothing more I can do." She said softly. "I am too spent, and have no more mana." Solona barely nodded, too tired to answer her. She continued to pour what little mana she had left into Elissa until she could cast no more and collapsed onto the ground in exhaustion as well.

Alistair was too distressed to notice their fatigue only that he saw them stop casting. He resumed his begging. "Please 'Lis! I haven't even got the courage to ask you to marry me yet, and I have a ring and everything, so please don't leave me. I had it all planned out for when we got back to Redcliffe, you'll love it, please, don't leave me alone 'Lis." He cried as he picked her body up to cradle her in his arms, bringing her body upright.

She let out a choking cough that expelled a mouthful of bright red blood, she took a deep breath and coughed more blood out of her mouth. Her eyes opened slowly. Her normally bright golden green eyes were almost black, they were so dilated with pain. She winced and instantly flinched, closing her eyes quickly against the bright light. "A ring and everything huh?" She managed to wheeze out weakly.

Alistair yelped with elation and held her closer to him. "Maker! Oh thank you, thank you for coming back to me 'Lis." He pulled her too tight but she managed to swallow her groan. She's put him through enough, even as confused as she was she knew that much, but she couldn't remember getting hurt. She tried to raise her arms to hug him back, but they were too heavy, or she was too tired, she couldn't be sure.

"Yes, I'll marry you, every time you ask." She said softly, her voice laced with agony, she couldn't hid her wince this time, she was too tired, and she slipped into sleep once more. This time her breathing wasn't as labored.

He whimpered through his tears and held her close. "And I'm never letting you go." He vowed harshly. "Never!" He felt his resolve harden like a diamond, anyone who tried to take her from him would face his blade. After everything they had been through, he'd never let anyone or anything get in their way again.

Solona smiled weakly and nudged Wynne "You did enough." She whispered. Her spells had told her that while Elissa was still quite injured, she would live. It would take more healing but she would be fine. Solona was just so exhausted she didn't have the strength to tell Alistair that.

"Remind me to teach you to cast lifeward." Wynne mumbled as she fell into an exhausted sleep. Solona too fell asleep right at Elissa's side while Alistair continued to rock her against his chest, thankful they were all alive.

  


It was just after dawn the morning after the fight with the High Dragon. Elissa woke feeling a little sore and ached in a few new places, but feeling like she'd gone a few rounds in the sparring ring rather than being chewed up and spit out by a dragon. With the amount of healing she'd had recieved she knew it would take a few days before she felt completely normal again.

She could feel Alistair's arm behind her head and his hand holding hers beside her, but there was no tent, they were crowded around a bonfire sized fire pit in the cavern where they had killed the leader of the dragon cult. Alistair's breathing told her he was sleeping lightly. When he was deeply sleeping he tended to snore lightly, just enough to be cute and not annoying.

In front of her sat Rory he was sitting with his armor off arms wrapped tightly around his knees staring into the fire. Every so often he could see a shiver run up his spine as his unseeing eyes gazed into the fire. She knew that position. She's sat in that same position every night until she and Duncan had picked up Solona. Thinking of her drew Elissa's eyes over to her cousin who was stretched out beside him holding his hand while she slept. She looked as if she hadn't had much sleep or that she'd been smited. Wynne was beside her and looked even worse off.

Elissa took a long deep breath and blow it out slowly. She really did feel amazing considering she had felt her armor try to give while clenched in the dragon's claw and when she felt the mouth start to close she had expected to feel the teeth impale her, instead she felt like she'd been hit with a mix of both healing and a barrier. The dragon's teeth seemed to slip to each side of her torso and the pressure had been intense, it had been hitting the ground that had nearly knocked her out for a moment, the barrier portion of the Lifeward spell had expired and she'd slammed full force into the rocks. Her armor took the brunt but the kinetic force had transferred to her making her injuries more severe.

She'd been awake the whole time but she felt paralysised in her body until Alistair had lifted her and she'd been able to clear her mouth and throat, doing both had given her the burst of oxygen she needed to fully awaken for that moment. She was surprised it was all coming back to her in such detail, normally injuries that bad resulted in never remembering the moment it happened.

The others were also passed out on the other side of the fire with Shale watching over the camp. She looked over and saw Elissa's eyes open. "It will want to pretend it is still sleeping when the others awaken." She said as soft as she had ever spoken. "It's partner was nearly mad with despair, and its long time friend has been like this even when told it would not be dead." She said motioning to Rory.

She gave Shale a smile. "Best to just get it over with actually." She said softly as she slipped out from under Alistair very carefully as to not wake him. As much as she owed it to him to let him know she was fine, Rory needed her more.

She walked over and sat behind him and placed her hand and head on his back. "Hello Rory." She whispered in his ear. He didn't move, which was strange for him. Needing more extreme means to get him to move and move around to pry his arms from his knees and sat in his lap and held him close. He woodenly put his arms around her shoulders but didn't seem to respond. she frowned and grabbed his face and forced him to look at her. The flatness of his eyes frightened her. He really was not seeing anything, and his eyes were bright red with burst blood vessels and red rimmed from lack of sleep.

She took a deep breath and then leaned forward and kissed him on his cheek. "You need to wake up Rory. I need you." She whispered to him. He turned his head a little to look towards her on his own but he was very slow to respond. She held his gaze. He finally seemed to see her.

"'Lissa?" He questioned." his voice sounded far away. "No watched you die this time." He said as he pushed her away.

She held on tighter. He was really out of it. It was going to take something drastic to wake him up. she slapped him, when that didn't work she kissed him. It was a quick peck on the lips but he jerked back from her.

"What the...?" He stared at her in disbelief.

Elissa smiled evilly. "Welcome back."

He dumped her on the ground as he got up quickly and stood away from her. "What the fuck Elissa?" He yelled at her, waking everyone else in the process, except for Wynne who didn't even twitch.

She stood up and stared him down. "You didn't respond to anything else." She yelled at him.

"It did make several attempts to wake you first before kissing." Shale said helpfully.

Alistair started at the word kissing and looked quickly at Rory's angry face and Elissa's exasperated one and felt a tinge of relief that it wasn't anything to be concerned over and an even bigger wave of happiness that she was awake and acting completely normally. Then he remembered that he was mad at her.

He stood quickly and grabbed Elissa by the arm, his relief at seeing her awake was quickly being replaced by his anger that had been building over her putting herself in danger to protect him. It spilled over.

"What the hell were you thinking?" He roared at her, his hand tightened to bruising force in a single second.

Elissa held his gaze and grab his other arm with the same bruising force. "I wasn't. It was a reaction." She hissed back.

"I was waiting for it to attack!" Alistair yelled back. "I didn't need you to protect me." He lied. He knew he wasn't ready for the attack, he'd been making sure the thing didn't knock him over, he hadn't been prepared for the grab.

Elissa glared at him. "Bullshit!" She screamed at him. "You were half turned away, that's why you were face down in the dirt when I hit you with my shield."

Alistair pushed her back from him but she held on keeping them face to face. "I was ready!" He lied again.

"She's right." Rory bellowed back. He got right into Alistair's startled face and pushed him back. Elissa let go and yanked Rory back. "I saw everything, if she hadn't pushed you out of the way it'd be you we watched that dragon try to eat!" He yelled. "You weren't careful enough and you nearly got her killed!" He turned on her before she could defend Alistair. "And you should have let him!" He in turn grabbed her and shook her hard. "I've already lost every bit of my family, I can't lose you, you are more important than he is." He looked wild and out-of-control. He was not her friend right now, he was some stranger that she didn't know at all.

Elissa shushed him. Trying to get him to slacken his grip. Alistair just watched heartbroken as she comforted him. The second his grip loosened as he began to cry Elissa hauled back and punched him as hard as she could. The unexpected blow sent him sprawling on the ground.

"Alright everyone listen up!" She said as she turned at look at each person as she spoke."That was a fucking High Dragon! Nobody could be prepared for everything, Alistair wasn't prepared for a hit. I thought I could push him out of the way and fall with him. I was wrong. That is not his fault." She turned to face down both Alistair and Rory. "It wasn't your fault, I got grabbed," she glared at Alistair, "and it certainly wasn't your fault Howe was the biggest fucking ass on the planet and killed our families." She bellowed at Rory and she marched over and leaned over him getting right into his personal space. "You, me, Sole and Alistair are a family, and if you ever pull that blame shit on any of us again I will kick your ass from here to Denerim, or until it sinks in, do you understand?"

Rory just lay on the ground sobbing quietly but he managed to nod. Elissa kneeled down and held him as he cried out the grief he'd been holding onto for way too long. Solona went to his other side and held him too. Whispering it wasn't his fault to him, letting him know she too didn't blame him for failing to save Highever and its people from its fate. Alistair too knelt. He owed Rory so much for helping him through his awkwardness with Elissa. He put his arm around Elissa and buried his head in her hair but placed his hand on Rory's shoulder.

They stayed that way for several minutes. Rory continued to cry, and Solona gestured for Alistair to follow her out of the cavern. Outside the others were waiting. "Shall we finish up the rendering of the dragon while we wait?" Zevran asked.

Solona nodded. "That would be a good idea, less likely to lose anything valuable."

"We also found the dragon's lair and brought the contents down for you." Zevran said for both he and Leliana, and pointing over to the side were he'd piled the magical purse and two magical backpacks and several very large, thick rolls of dragon skin. "The scales and skin are in and beside the second, and some of the blood. We have collected the skin off; the back; the wings, and the chest, although that was a little messy." He gestured to the skinned dragon, the many shallow pits were filled with dragon blood and tissue." The armor and weapons are there," he said pointing to the other bag. "All except the bow I took to replace my old one. This was ok, yes?"

Solona nodded. "Yes, just don't replace the Grey Warden Armor we gave you, one of these days we'll have to put you through the Joining if you still want it." She said looking back at him. "It's a slow death sentence." She warned him.

"So is being an ex-Crow, but not so much the slow part." Zevran responded happily. "I had thought you had changed your mind." He said less confidently.

"I did." She replied softly. "But yesterday and this morning reminded me of how I felt when I joined, and I won't take the feeling of belonging from you if you'd rather be a part of this." She looked away from him. "I'm not going to lie, I can't even warn you about all there is to know about being a Warden because we don't know ourselves."

Alistair looked confused. "What are you talking about, the feeling of belonging? You never met the others."

She smiled at him. "I got you though, remember."

Alistair's eyes lit up in remembrance of their talk before the war council. "Of course, little sister." He said fondly.

Zevran wasn't fast enough removing his look of envy. Alistair and Solona turned to him. "If you want to we can put you through the Joining now. You'll need at least an hour to recover and Elissa and Rory will be longer than that."

Zevran shook his head. "I will wait until we do not have other things to concern us, but I would like to go through with it as soon as possible. Perhaps when we return to Redcliffe?"

"I am going to go back to the translations." Shale said softly. "I am getting to the best part I think."

Solona nodded." Thank you Shale, for everything." Shale nodded, and picked up the large rolls of dragon skin to carry to the front of the temple, and walked away towards other exit they that lead to the front of the first Temple.

 

Inside Rory had startled to settle after his breakdown. Elissa held his head against her shoulder and was rubbing his back. Her own tears had soaked his shoulder. Together the two allowed the tears they both had avoided to find the release they needed. Elissa felt emotionally lighter, but physically exhausted.

Rory was actually falling asleep now that he was no longer crying. His exhaustion allowed her to lower him down and placing a bedroll over him. She laid down beside him. "No more holding it in Rory, promise me." She ordered.

He coughed, clearing his throat. "You're not my commander 'Lissa."

She brushed his hair off his forehead lovingly. "I can make her order you if you'd like." she teased. "We are family Rory, we always have been, and we always will be."

He opened his eyes and she saw how scared he was. "You are all I have."

She shook her head. "You, me, Sole and Ali are all family now." She promised. "Always."

"Just what I needed, to be the oldest." He teased as his eyes closed once more.

"Better you than me." She teased back, but his breathing was already evening out as he fell into a deep sleep. Nearby Wynne slept on completely unaware.

  


It was near midday when the party was finally rested and healed enough to continued on. Across the little valley was another temple. Inside the party was confronted by a spirit dressed in old style of an Alamarri warrior.

"Greetings Pilgrims. I am the Guardian of the Urn of Scared Ashes. I have waited many an age for this moment." He said in with a bow of respect towards the party.

Solona stepped forward uncertainly."For us?"

The Guardian nodded his head solemnly. "Yes, I have waited for the ones to come to complete the Quest of Andraste, the quest that she tried long ago to complete."

They all looked at one another in shock. "Wait, what?" Alistair stammered out.

"Complete the Quest of Andraste?" Elissa asked in disbelief. "What quest? I thought she was trying to free the slaves!"

The Guardian nodded. "That was part of it, but that too failed. The quest given to her to free Thedas from the corruption of magic and return it to it's true form, and to free the people from the Tevinter Imperium by destroying it."

"Corruption of magic? But she was a mage why would she kill her own people?" Solona said urgently.

"Not the death of the mages." The Guardian clarified. "The purification of the Magic. Once the Eight stand in the Golden Light the magic shall be cleansed and free once more instead of bound by the false gods trap. Andraste's Eight fell to their own corruption."

"Maferath!" Leliana spat out.

"He was one of the two who fell, yes." The Guardian said. "It has been my duty to protect he Urn and prepare the way for the faithful who come to revere Andraste and her Holy Mission. Years beyond counting I have waited and here I shall stay until the Imperium crumbles into the sea."

"The Imperium? But they are only a small country now. Why are they important?" Elissa asked carefully standing beside Solona.

The Guardian switched his full attention on her instead of his eyes wondering on everyone. Somehow Elissa knew she had just become the focus of the tests to come. "It was they who used ancient magics unknown to themselves and corrupted the remaining accessible magic of Thedas, making it a draw to the demons of the Fade."

"How do we proceed?" Solona asked confidently. If the tests were hard it could take all day and half of it was gone already. She did not want to be sleeping in a hall with an ancient ghost, or having to cross the valley in the dark with the carcass of a High Dragon likely to pull in dangerous predators and scavengers later.

"You will need to prove your worthiness Chosen Ones; Queen, King, Hero, and comrades."

"How do we prove out worthiness?" Elissa asked formally.

"The Gauntlet decides."

Alistair grumbled. "Oh great, a series of tests. Just what we needed."

"If you are worthy you will find the ashes and may each take a single pinch. There will be four test but first I have a question for each of you." The Guardian said calmly.

Elissa felt the hairs on the back of her neck bristle. "We will answer your questions." She said formally once more.

He turned and focused his eyes on her. They seemed brighter than the rest of him. The blue almost glowed with a lyrium color. "It has not been an easy path here for any of you. You have suffered, and the others have suffered. You abandoned everyone you loved for duty." Elissa stiffened, her back snapped straight as she took a deep breath. "You left them in the hands of Rendon Howe, knowing he would show no mercy, and now you plan to take on even greater responsibilities on your shoulders. Do you think you will fail Ferelden as you failed your parents?"

Elissa's eyes flared. "I did not fail! I did my duty! I needed to see the King and my brother to warn them and to make sure that the news got out! I did what needed to be done for both myself and Highever. I will do the same for Ferelden." She was seething but she stood proud and defiant.

"Then you do not dwell on past actions, yours or others." The Guardian replied.

"Well it's so easy to judge in hindsight isn't." Alistair said defensively. "It doesn't always make things better." Elissa held her hand out to him and he took it, bringing her hand to his lips he kissed her gauntleted hand.

"It only makes things harder and more muddled if you keep second guessing yourself." Rory said looking straight at the Guardian, "It's one thing to learn from a mistake, another to drive yourself mad."

Wynne nodded. "We cannot always predict the outcome of our actions, but that doesn't mean we were wrong to do as we did, or that the actions had no effect at all, and some actions are so far-reaching there is no end to them."

Leliana looked concerned. "Why bring up such old wounds that were so recently re-opened?"

Elissa turned to all of them and smiled sadly. "It brings closure."

The Guardian nodded and bowed slightly to Elissa. "And what of your chosen King?"

"What about me?" Alistair asked.

"Knight. Warden. Future King-"

Alistair cut him off. "Whoa, Prince Consort and only if I can't get out an any title at all." Alistair corrected him sternly. Elissa snorted softly. One of the things she loved about him was that he didn't love her power or political connections. More likely he'd be happier if she'd been a commoner too.

"You dwell on if your presence, along with that of your battle-sister, being on the battlefield with Duncan would have changed the outcome. If you could have shielded him from the killing blow. You wonder if you should have died." Everyone sort of held their breath as they watched Alistair's reaction.

Like Elissa before him he seemed to be angered by the question. "I used to, I guess I still do sometimes because he knew more than we do about the Wardens, but I know I am needed here." He said forcefully, he glanced at Elissa and saw her looking at him with such pride that he felt himself filling with confidence. "Yesterday even I might have thought he would have been the better choice but not anymore, and never again, I now know I am meant to be here, never Duncan."

Solona also was looking at him with a deep sense of pride. "You were always needed brother."

Her words refocused the Guardian on her. "Mage. Commander. Hero. So young you are, so unsure of your place. You feel unready, untested and fear you lack the knowledge of the outside world, and it will doom more than just Ferelden."

Solona laughed without mirth as she often did when under extreme stress. "Of course. I would be a fool if I depended only on myself at this age." Her demeanor changed to strictly serious. "I am untried, untested and ignorant of many things, but I am also not so proud that I can't turn to others and ask for the help I require."

"You'll always have my support." Alistair vowed, giving her a salute of respect, hitting his shoulder with his fist and bowing his head. Rory, Zevran were both quick to follow. Leliana and Wynne also voiced their support and Elissa just squeezed her shoulder.

"So am I next?" Asked Rory.

The Guardian fixed his stare on him. "Knight. Warden. Noble by birth. You fear you like your friend are the last of your line. You fear that your life will be required to be sacrificed before you can have an heir, and while your death will be meaningful, and for the good the country, you fear the pain inflicted on those that look to your family for their livelihoods and the family responsibilities."

Rory nodded calmly, although his hand shook obviously. "I am." He looked toward Elissa and gave her a grim look. "I guess I am too much of a Cousland at heart to abandon my family obligations and duties despite being a Warden. I am the last Gilmore. My father and older brothers are dead because of Loghain and Howe."

Elissa gave him a hug. "You aren't alone. And you will have a life after this is done. You are a Cousland, and an Amell, and a Theirin, just as each of us is a Gilmore. And if I have any say in it your family's Bann will be cared for." He held her tight.

"I knew you would." He said softly.

Wynne stepped forward next. "Ask your question Guardian."

He nodded. "Ever the advisor, ready to give advice, some not at your own behest. How much of your advice is of your own and how much of it is empty platitudes engraved on your soul by the Circle and the Chantry?"

Wynne looked thoughtful. "I do not know. I don't wish others to make the same painful mistakes I have. I have learned that I can offer the advice but the wisdom of what is best for others is not mine to make. So even if the words are empty, the wisdom of them is all that matters. As long as I have tried to teach about the possibilities of actions, than I have done all I could to reduce the pain of those I care for." She said softly. "Sometimes people need to make their own mistakes and sometimes what could be a mistake for one, is not for another. Or it could also be something that can change the world." She said with a warm smile toward Elissa, who smiled and nodded in return.

The Guardian turned towards the two rogues but turned to stare at Zevran first. "The Antivan Elf."

"Oh is it my turn now? I am sooo excited." He said sarcastically.

"Many have died at your hands, but there is regret more for a woman by the name --"

Zevran's face went white and he rushed forward towards the spirit warrior. "How do you know about that?" He spat at it.

The Guardian was calm and unconcerned. "I know all I need to know. The question still stands. Do you regret--"

"Yes!" He cried out with a hint of pain. "That is the answer you wish to know? Yes I regret it, enough that I wanted to die at my new compainion’s hands when I took the contract. Is that what you wished to know?"

The Guardian nodded.

"Zev..." Elissa said softly. "I'm sorry." She said. She knew he had screwed up the trap on purpose. It was such an obvious setup, and so horribly planned against a group of their size. He'd had to have known more about their party than he pretended, but he never once tried to talk about it. She'd respected that. Now she was rethinking the hands-off approach she'd taken with him.

He shook his head. "When I am ready 'mi cuccioa'." She acknowledged his sediment and looked down.

The Guardian tuned to Leliana and looked slightly more stern with her than the others. "And you... why do you say the Maker speaks to you when all know the Maker has left us. He spoke only with Andraste. Do you believe yourself to be her equal?" He asked slightly hostile.

"I _never_ said that!" Leliana shouted passionately.

The Guardian's face didn't change but it's tone was still a little more condescending compared to when it spoke to the others. "In Orlais you were _someone_. In Lothering you feared losing yourself within the cloth of the sisterhood. When the others criticized, you were hurt and elated by the attention. You reveled in it because it made you feel special. You enjoyed the attention even when it was negative."

Leliana was furious and it showed in her voice and as her body vibrated with her rage. "You think I made it up for... for _attention_? I did _not_! I know what I believe!"

Everyone else stood back to see what the Spirit would do. Instead on continuing to confront her he turned and waved his hand at the door, it unlocked and swung wide open. "The way is now open, may you find what you seek." No one spoke. The truths of the confrontation had revealed many inner secrets. Elissa now wished they'd brought Morrigan, the hidden agenda of the woman and Flemeth was a worry to her. She'd hoped that Morrigan would have left by now. Still the witch and Solona were becoming somewhat friends, and Solona was sure the young woman would be turning to their side when she finished her mother's book.

The group walked through a small anti-room and into a tomb like room with eight alcoves. In each was a ghost like specter of historical figures asking a riddle and giving them a piece of the story of Andraste. Leliana knew all the answers and who each figure was. While Leliana responded strongly to Maferath, the words of Lady Vasilia Hessarian sent a chill up Elissa and Solona's spine. "I am Justice, I am Vengeance. Blood can only be repaid in blood." The words made them both think about the warning to the Champion about being challenged by Justice. Still not knowing who the Champion or Herald was made the warning even more important to them both to remember.

After they answered to ghosts on the riddle room the door at the end of the hall opened for them. Standing in the next room waiting to greet them was another ghostly figure.

"My dearest child." It said lovingly. This time Elissa, Solona and Rory recognized him and gasped.

"Daddy?" Elissa's voice trembled as she saw her father standing there, strong and healthy as she'd seen him earlier that final evening in Fergus's room with the rest of her family, long before finding him in the pantry bleeding out.

The rest of the party stayed back and watched with their hearts breaking for her as Elissa's tears ran freely down her face. She reached for him only for her hand to go through the ghost. The image shimmered, and she quickly dropped her hand so as to not disturb the ghost. She wasn't taking any chances with it disappearing if she disturbed it more.

The specter of Bryce Cousland gave her a loving smile as it re-solidified. "You know I am long gone, and all your prayers and wishes cannot bring me back my dearest girl." She nodded silently as her tears continued to fall fast and free.

"Pup, I know you miss me, and you have such a vast burden to endure. Look to those around you. Your true love, your brothers, your dearest cousin, and your faithful companions. I know you miss me, but my life, my death, they cannot have a hold on you, and you must be prepared, do not look back, and do not falter." He looked pained as he continued. "You have such a long road ahead of you my dearest. You must all be prepared, and forgive those who desired forgiveness, even when they themselves are not guilty. You all must be prepared."

He handed her a necklace that appeared in his hand and dropped into hers. "I leave this in your hands Pup. I know you will do great things with it, and you will know when to pass it on to the next one to need it."

He turned to Rory looking at him proudly. "My son of my heart, thank you. And Solona my dear niece, thank you too, for standing with her. And Alistair," He said turning to him. "You are as strong as your father. His biggest regret in his life was letting you go. Take care of my girl, and love her as you do now for the rest of your days, she is yours now to care for. You both have my blessing."

"Yes, Sir." He choked out.

"Daddy, I--" Elissa cried.

"Good bye, Pup. Know your mother and I love you always." The specter moved forward and kissed her cheek with a slightest of touches before he dissolved into nothing.

Elissa fell to her knees crying and clutching the necklace to her heart. Alistair knelt down beside her clutching her close to his chest but letting her cry. Rory and Solona both looked at a loss. Rory too looked deeply touched by the statements made by Bryce's ghost and she held him to show him support while they waited for Elissa to recover.

When she was ready she placed the pendent around her neck, and the group moved into the next room.

The next test was in a wide gloomy looking room, and on the other side were specter doppelgangers, one for each of the group. Rory called out pairs. Elissa and Alistair used their Templar skills in unison for the first time effectively, The mages on their side stood well back and picked off the ranged fighters on the other side, while Zevran, Leliana and Rory took on the front line fighters. Tactics verses a group of fighters doing their own thing was a simple calculation. Wynne used her healing spells liberally and the group came out feeling better then when they entered. Even Elissa who was still a little stiff from the injuries from the dragon felt better than before.

The next room held a puzzle. Elissa hated puzzles. "Damn it." She said with disgust looking around at the floor panels and the huge empty opening in the middle of the room.

Leliana's face lit up. "It's a Bridge of Faith!" The others just turned to her. She explained that they needed to find the right pattern to create a solid bridge. It took her less than three minutes to get everyone in place so she could walk across and lock the bridge so they could all cross with her. Elissa breathed a sigh of relief, she'd have been there for hours trying to figure it all out. Especally since the numbers seemed to have something to do with an older Chant of Light than the current one.

The final room held an alter and a wall of flames that rose up to about six feet. On the other side they all could see the Shrine on the other side on a raised dais with stairs leading up to a huge urn.

Rory read the alter and blushed. "Oh boy!"

"What?" Alistair asked. "What do we need to do now?"

"Get naked." Rory chuckled nervously, looking away from everyone.

"Excuse me?" Elissa blinked in surprise.

"Read it yourself." Rory said gesturing to the altar. Elissa walked over to confirm what he said was true and not some prank. She too looked more than a little uncomfortable with that.

Solona just shrugged and began to take off her armor, as did Wynne, Zevran and Leliana. Rory blushed a little but as the other began he turned his back and began to remove his armor.

"There's no need to be bashful Rory, you've got nothing to be ashamed of." Leliana said laughing, trying to lighten the mood a little.

Zevran was quick to join in. "I am looking forward to seeing the amazing bosom of Wynne's without the robes too." He said with a wink at the older woman, making her blush but she didn't stop removing her clothes.

"You my dear boy are incorrigible." She admonished him, her tone teasing and sounding a little flattered as always, not that the half-hearted rebuke effected Zevran at all.

Elissa looked down at the necklace she had just put on."I don't want to take it off already." She admitted sadly to Alistair.

He took her hands in his and kissed her knuckles. "If you do, I have a ring to add to your finger when we re-dress." He said with a brilliant red blush, but he pulled out a small ring box for her to see. He opened it to show her the ring hidden inside on the black velvet. She gasped and reached out to touch it, but Alistair snapped it shut before she could. "First, we have to get naked."

She burst out laughing, but she nodded her head, reaching for the buckles on his armor. "In any other situation or anyone else had said that I'd have boxed his ears." she giggled and gave him a smug smirk. "You first then."

"Get a move on, I'm getting cold." Solona giggled from where she had just finished removing her smalls, and her own jewelry.

"Jump in the fire." Alistair mumbled as he quickly removed his armor, and helped Elissa out of hers. She hesitated to take the necklace off but when she placed it on the alter the flames changed from bright heated red to a cool radiating blue. Together Elissa and Alistair took one another hands and stepped forward.

Once they all stepped through the strangely refreshing flames, they winked out, and a bone jarring deep gong sounded. They stood still for a moment and waited. When nothing happened Elissa stepped back to the altar, picked up the necklace again and placed it back around her neck. When the flames didn't restart the others followed her lead and scrambled to get back into their clothes, except Zevran who took his time as if being naked in front of everyone wasn't an issue for him and he enjoyed the attention.

When they were fully dressed Alistair got down on one knee. "I know you said yes yesterday, and everyone had known for months we plan to marry, but I want to do this right."

Elissa gave him a watery smile. She'd cried so much in the past few hours she was surprised she had any tears left, but these tears of happiness were helping to make her feel lighter. It helped to know her father approved of Alistair. "Please." She told him.

He smiled thankfully up at her. "You are everything I have ever admired about anyone. You are strong, kind, considerate of others, and you laugh at most of my jokes." She couldn't help but giggle which made Alistair's grin widen. "I promise to love you every day I have left in this life and beyond... Will you be my wife, even if you have to be Queen?"

Elissa giggled and nodded. "Yes, Alistair. Yes, I will marry you, even if I have to make you King to do it."

"Maker help us if you do!" He chuckled as he slipped his mother's ring on her hand.

The others clapped and catcalled as Elissa admired the ring. "It's beautiful."

Alistair smiled and turned her hand over so she could see the band. "The runes are tiny, but Sandal enchanted it for me so it's will never break and it will protect you." He said once more kissing her fingers. She gave him a warning look, he knew that her hands were sensative when he kissed them. He chuckled softly before lowering her hand.

"Thank you Alistair." She sniffled tearfully, but smiling widely.

"We're all re-dressed so what do you say we get those ashes, and get out of here so us girls can all have a giggle fest over that ring back at camp. Morrigan and Sten should be in Haven by now." Solona suggested.

It was a very reverent group that gathered at the bottom of the steps. "Why don't you go first Leliana?" Elissa suggested knowing of all of them Leliana was the most devote. This moment meant more to her than it ever could to the rest of them.

Leliana was in such veneration of the Urn that she barely nodded as she began to slowly climb the stairs, her eyes never leaving the face of the statue watching over the earthly remains of the Bride of the Maker. When she reached the top she dropped to her knees to pray first before she took a small pouch that was provided by the Urn, and slowly reached in to take a pinch. When she came down she was in awe and she kneeled down at the foot of the stairs, stared at the bag and began to pray once more silently. Each of them followed her example and went up, prayed, and then took a pinch of the ashes, and then went to wait to the side with the others that had been up already. Elissa went last.

She went up and dropped to one knee. "I don't know how you did it, having so much resting on your shoulders alone. I am so thankful it won't be me alone. Please let me know what to do, after Loghain, I am unsure what my role will be. I need guidance." She prayed silently. "I need Faith to speak to me."


	14. Chapter 14

 

  


"I'm sorry Brother Genitivi but the cult was delusional." Elissa was explaining to the Chantry man. "They honestly thought that this Tevinter ruin was the temple, and they were worshiping the dragon as Andraste herself."

"We saw their 'Urn'." Rory said with apparent disgust. "It was a pile of ashes from where they cremated the unhatched eggs." He lied convincingly.

"If you want to go on up, feel free." Elissa said sympathetically. "I think... no I'm pretty sure we managed to kill all the dragons, and the cultists." She shivered. "They actually had Reavers; berserkers that drink dragon blood."

The man looked at the piles of dragon skin and the vials of dragon blood with despair. "I was so sure I had finally found it." He looked away and Elissa felt a little guilty at destroying the man's life work. "Would I be able to catch a lift to Redcliffe with you?" He asked quietly. His shoulders slouched down with his disappointment.

Elissa sounded so sincere when she smiled at him and patted his shoulder. "Of course, perhaps all the way to Denerim since we will be heading that way right after checking in at Redcliffe. It will also give our healers time to make sure your ankle heals properly. Ankles can be tricky." She said sounding sad. "We'll come back for you in the morning, once the wagons are loaded. We are going to find empty beds in the village for the night also. "

The man nodded, looking completely devastated and laid back in his bed. Elissa and Rory left and walked to Shale across the way. "Please let me know if he tries to leave." Elissa says nervously.

"You're worried?" Rory asked, he didn't like the idea of the man knowing the truth or being this close to a truth that could doom Ferelden. He was half tempted to go back and silence him himself. Too much depended on the outcome of this one man believing what they had just told him.

"Of course I am. But what kind of Queen would I be if I killed everyone I thought might pose a threat to Ferelden?" She asked clearly stressed. "I don't trust the Chantry to tie their own boots, so of course I don't trust them to not try to invade Ferelden for a religious relic. If the damn thing could be moved it would be one thing, but we can't do that right now. To even consider that we would need to break the enchantments protecting it and there is still the Guardian, who knows what he could do."

Rory nodded in agreement. "You're going to come back afterward and try to remove it, aren't you."

Elissa bit her lip looking very disturbed. "I'll likely get you to do it with anyone you trust to help you." She told him. "It can't stay here without the cult to keep it hidden." She whispered sadly. She wished no one had ever heard of the damn thing.

"Does it wish for me to stay and protect the ruin until you return?" Shale asked.

Elissa looked very tempted but shook her head. "No, I want nothing to make Brother Genitivi think there might be something here after all. He'd notice if you stayed behind."

"We could tell him Shale is staying to stop looting of the town until it can be secured with troops." Rory suggested. "With the Blight on it's a real possibility."

"And with the Blight on we need to keep our small group together." She replied. "Besides we are about to come out in the open, Shale won't need to stay in the shadows much longer." They all agreed reluctantly. "Good night."

  


They left the next morning, heading for Redcliffe. Like Jowan before him, Brother Genitivi travelled in the wagon. With Sten and Morrigan together with them they were able to salvage another wagon and a double team of oxen from the village before they turned out all the other animals so they wouldn't stave. The wagons had been loaded with every scrap of dragon hide they could salvage from the dragon and drakes, as well as the useable bones for weapons and armor and food from the village. The second wagon was piled so high the four oxen still needed a little push from Sten and Shale to get it moving and up steep hills.

When they returned to Redcliffe they were met by Teagan. He looked hassled, but the work he had done to secure Redcliffe was evident in everything around the keep and town. It looked well managed and the townsfolk while still sad and angry were not in need of anything. Teagan had seen to that much. He was very pleased to see them. Because they didn't want Brother Genitivi to know the truth they told Teagan they had failed to find the Urn.

"I'm sorry Teagan but the Urn was a myth, a dragon cult was deluded into thinking the High Dragon they were worshiping was the reincarnation of Andraste." Elissa said sadly.

Teagan fell into the throne in the hall. "What do we do now?" He moaned nearly overwhelmed with all that he would have to do if Eamon didn't wake.

"Jowan thinks he found an antidote." Solona told him with a look he understood to mean they were hiding something important that couldn't be discussed in present company. His outlook instantly brightened.

He nodded slowly and looking very determined he turned to the monk. " Brother Genitivi, we will be leaving for Denerim shortly, I hope to be there for First Day." He told the man. "Will you be accompanying us?"

"If it would be alright, my Lord." Brother Genitivi said sadly. "I would be glad to travel in the company of talented protection." He said with a bow to Elissa and the others. He took his leave, finally walking without a limp any longer.

"Let's try this antidote, if it works than Eamon can help us plan. If not then we shall have to make do with what we have." Teagan said carefully.

Elissa, Alistair, Solona and Teagan went up to Eamon's room. Isolde was there but she refused to look up at them. Teagan told her what was said downstairs. The woman was too stupid to be told the truth.

She stared with hatred up at Teagan. "No! I will not allow anything made by that murderer to be put to my husband's lips."

Elissa walked over and grabbed her by the hair and dragged her up to her feet and ignored her screeching. "I nearly died fighting a High Dragon to get the ingredients for this fucking antidote. Solona is the best spirit healer in Ferelden and she is the one going to administer it, and if you say one more word I will personally knock you out until the procedure is done." She pushed Isolde to the ground and glared down at her. "You're lucky I haven't already had you thrown in the dungeon for what you have done."

Isolde glared back at her. "When Eamon wakes we shall see who ends up in the dungeon." She hissed.

Isolde glared at Solona as she stepped forward to administer the ashes via the distilled water and a touch of lyrium to activate the magic within Eamon's body. Teagan moved to Eamon's bedside near Solona to watch for any movement, Isolde took the other side and held his hand tightly in hers, she began to pray, her eyes tightly closed.

Elissa stood back at the foot of the bed, and held onto Alistair's hand. He'd placed his other one around her waist holding her against his side. It took a few minutes but Eamon began to waken slowly. The ashes seemed to be breaking the chains of the demon's magic slowly, like they were dissolving.

Alistair was getting more and more tense as Eamon began to wake. Before they had arrived Elissa, Solona, Leliana and Rory had all impressed upon him the importance of letting Eamon think he was putting Alistair forward as King, until the morning of the actual Landsmeet when Elissa would show him Duncan and Cailan's documents. She didn't want Eamon to know before then because she didn't trust him to not let the information leak to Loghain through his allies. She wanted Loghain flatfooted on the floor of the Landsmeet.

The strategy was sound and so it hadn't taken much to convince him. It was only afterward that he realized they had never told Teagan that Elissa was to be queen. In fact only the Dwarves had ever been told, and they weren't known for giving out details to outsiders. She had even insisted that they dress in the armors they were all in before they arrived at Redcliffe as part of their strategy.

Eamon saw Alistair first as he was standing in front of him in his full Constable Warden Armor, Elissa was in her Cousland Silverite Armor she'd had in her pack since Lothering, but with Duncan's Warden Commander cloak over her back. Solona was in her newly embossed Warden Commander Armor with her staff lit, feeding Eamon healing energy. He'd been without real substance for over a month, and was very weak. Solona gave him a small sips of a healing draft, and once he finished the bottle he seemed able to sit up with help from Teagan.

He asked what had happened and Teagan explained everything he knew. Coming to Redcliffe when Eamon had asked him to, only to find the village under siege by undead, how that had happened, and why Connor was gone, but alive, thanks to Solona who he introduced as Warden-Commander Solona Amell.

He went on to tell him that the mage who had poisoned him at Loghain's request had also made the antidote that saved him. Teagan did a wonderful job of painting Alistair, Elissa and Solona as heroes, and Isolde as the grasping harpy she was. He also made sure Eamon was aware that thanks to her, not only was 'Eamon's son' gone, but he was going to need constant checking on to be sure Templars kept their abuse of him to a minimum because he'd been possessed, and that too was Isolde's fault, all of it.

Isolde had tried to defend herself but it had only made things worse when she accused Teagan of siding with the Wardens because he was sleeping with Solona, her jealousy shining through in such a way that even Eamon couldn't help but notice it. Eamon needed more rest and the group left Eamon and Isolde with Teagan for the night. Wynne and Solona did go back several times to feed Eamon more health potion and healing spells so he'd regain all his strength by First Day and be prepared to travel by the next morning. With it being four days to Denerim by coach they needed to leave no later than noon on the next day.

In the morning Eamon called for a meeting with Alistair and Teagan only in his room. When Teagan came to get Alistair, he said no.

"Either Elissa comes or I don't." He said with a bashful grin and a shrug as Teagan smirked. Elissa was tucked under Alistair's arm like she had been at every possible moment since the Dragon incident.

"I told him that's what you would say. You know what he's like." He said with his own shrug. "You might as well come along Elissa. I know your the politician of this partnership." He gestured them both with a large grin. "Besides it will do him good to see that ring on your finger." He smiled fondly at Alistair. "I'm glad to see you found someone worthy of it."

"So am I." He said softly as he kissed her fingertips of her ring hand.

Elissa smiled and blushed softly as she looked up at Alistair. "I feel honored to wear it."

"You'll have to tell me how he asked." Teagan teased Elissa.

"Which time?" Elissa teased back. "The time the dragon spat me out, or the time he got down on his knee in front of the Urn of Scared Ashes and asked in Andraste's Ashes presence?"

Alistair tensed as he remembered asking her after the dragon, but he couldn't help chuckling when he saw Teagan's awed expression. "I saw the dragon remains and heard the story of how Alistair killed it, but I thought Leliana was exaggerating! It actually spat you out?" He paused. "What do you mean in front of the Ashes. I thought you-- That's what you were hiding, they are real?" He asked in awe.

Elissa and Alistair told him the short version of the tale and why they were hiding the truth until the Ashes could be secured and the story of Andraste fully looked into, as they walked to Eamon's room.

"I want someone to double check Shale's translations." Elissa told him very quietly.

"That is unbelievable! But I agree no one should know about the truth until that is secured." He exclaimed as they walked in.

"The dragon moment was the dramatic proposal, the romantic one was in the Urn room of course." Elissa said with her happiness at the proposals shining in her eyes and voice. Teagan was suddenly jealous of the love he saw there. It was the type of love he'd held out for, but no longer thought was out there for him. "We are keeping the Urn secret from everyone else, including Eamon until they can be secured." She warned him. She explained and Teagan agreed to keep quiet, and thanked her for trusting him.

Eamon looked annoyed as they walked into the room together. "Teagan you were to bring only Alistair." He said as sternly as he was capable of.

"Let me save you time." Alistair said just as firmly. "I do nothing without discussing it with Elissa first. Of the two of us she has the training to deal with this type of thing, not me. I am a Warden, and not able to be King anyway." Elissa subtlety kicked him to get him to stop. Alistair didn't take the hint or ignored it. "He'd be better to put you forward Darling, and tell them the blood line will continue since we are getting married."

Elissa put her face down so as to not show her exasperation but to seem meek and bashful in front of Eamon. It was too late to convince Teagan of that, but Eamon was a hard-headed fool when it came to women. He didn't disappoint either when he opened his mouth.

"Alistair your bloodline is more important than any promises to the Wardens. We can have them release you." He said dismissively. Alistair looked confused. With the blood rite involved it wasn't possible to quit being a Warden.

"I can guarantee you the Warden Commander of Ferelden is not going to release me, and even if she did, Weisshaupt will not." Alistair said slowly once more. Eamon had left no doubt in Alistair's mind as a child that he wasn't to lead anything ever his whole life. He knew he should at least act normal during this meeting, and protesting was normal for him. He just wasn't going to be a forceful about it as he had been lately. He's best way to come across as genuine was to stick close to the truth, so he did, though that kick had hurt, she was wearing pointed toed shoes. "Besides I'm not leadership material, you've said so yourself my whole life." He said to Eamon with a shrug.

Eamon looked a little annoyed and satisfied all at once which left him looking strangely content. "With your father refusing to acknowledge you, and Cailan also unable to do so, it would have been a disservice to you to push you into a leadership role as a child Alistair. I was trying to do right by you within the rules set down by your mother." Eamon said with disgust. "Why she thought you shouldn't be acknowledge was always beyond me. As a bastard noble at least you would have had a somewhat easier life, but she wanted you raised as a bastard commoner."

"You know who his mother was?" Elissa asked carefully.

Eamon gave her a cold stare. "Do not ask questions you do not want the answers to, Your Grace." His tone told her there was much more to the story than Alistair had been told and it was best to never question it again. His attitude and the fact he still wanted to put Alistair forward as King meant; very few knew the truth and not the cover story. Those that knew could be trusted to keep their mouths shut, and that she and Alistair would never be one of the few who knew if he had any say in the matter.

Alistair as usual pretended to missed the byplay and started to protest but Elissa cut him off. "Alistair, don't. He can't tell you." She whispered urgently to him. Now was not the time to play stupid, somehow she managed to convey that to him with a look.

"Why not." He asked plainly, too curious to not at least know that much.

"Because you'd act on the knowledge and you can't." She told him, she placed her hand on his cheek, her heart breaking for him. "I know you want to know your family, but please, can't the family we have now be enough?" Alistair still looked at her with his pleading eyes. "Do you want to be in Cailan's position? Knowing you have family and having to watch them from afar knowing that you can't even talk to them?"

He flinched back as if she'd slapped him. "Cailan didn't--"

"Yes he did, he told me himself!" She insisted. Alistair wasn't the only one paying close attention to what she was saying now. Both Eamon and Teagan had unintentionally leaned in closer to hear what she had to say. "He said he hated that the only way he could show you support was to back the Grey Wardens to the hilt because he didn't know about you until it was too late to stop your conscription. He wanted to acknowledge you, and bring you to court! He didn't care about the fact it would have put him in a dangerous situation, he wanted to know you, but as a Grey Warden with a Blight about to happen he couldn't do anything!"

"He could have said something, privately even!" Alistair cried out his voice raising as his temper started to show.

"And then went back to pretending he didn't know you in public?" She said with sorrow as she wrapped her arms around his waist, he slowly put his arms around her and rested his forehead on her shoulder. "He couldn't be that cruel. He'd cared enough to not make you feel unworthy of being his brother, but he managed to do that anyway, and he never wanted that. He thought he was the only one suffering this way."

"Why didn't you say anything before?" He asked her, still angry but his voice slightly pleading.

"I didn't think you were ready to talk about it yet." She told him plainly but her hand on the back of his neck rubbing tiny circles made him feel her love for him. He knew her well enough that he could appreciate she would have told him if the situation had been different. They'd have had this conversation long ago if they weren't on the run and had so many other things to deal with. "He was so angry you were sent to the Chantry." She told him quietly though she knew her audience could hear her, and she hoped that Eamon choked on his guilt.

Eamon flinched at that statement and Teagan gave him a knowing glare that neither Alistair or Elissa saw. Eamon tried to regain his composure before Alistair and Elissa turned back to him.

Elissa looked him dead in the eye, her tone stern and not brokering an argument regarding the topic. "He deserves to know someday, but I agree that now is not the time." She gave Alistair a warm but pleading look. He nodded and looked down, with sad acceptance.

"Yes," Eamon said, he coughed and tried to smile. "I have written letters that will be going out soon to all my allies that I have recovered, and I am calling an emergency Landsmeet for a full week after First day."

Elissa nodded and was grateful for the minimum amount of time before the assemble could be called. "I contacted my allies when we were in Denerim last week and let them know I survived. Howe and Loghain do not have the support they will need to hold the Landsmeet now that we both are able to attend."

Eamon was not happy that Elissa was so well schooled in The Game. He'd hoped to be Alistair's sole support in his cabinet once he installed him as King. Elissa Cousland was not a person to be willing to let him be the single power behind the throne, but he'd still be there as an advisor, which was better than what he was now. Cailan had been so angry about Alistair. So much so that Cailan had banned him from his presence as long as he stayed married to Isolde. It was that fact which saw neither he nor his troops invited to Ostagar, not a lack of concern about the Blight. Cailan hadn't wanted Eamon near Alistair who would be present at Ostagar.

Eamon never found out how Cailan found out about Alistair being his brother, or of the treatment he endured while he lived in Redcliffe. Eamon knew he'd deserved the censure for allowing Isolde to be so cruel to the child. It had not been Alistair's fault he was not his sister's child, nor was it his fault he was part elf and mage. He'd been fearful of getting attached to the child only to have to send him to the Circle if he'd been a mage. When he was honest with himself, he would also admit he'd been angry at Maric for moving on instead of mourning his sister for longer than a few months. That was if he had even mourned her that long. Then a year later saddling him with his bastard child to raise in secret had felt like a slap in the face. Even as a young child Alistair had looked too much like Maric.

"I will add our personal alliance to the letters, Your Grace." He said formally.

"I am sure that between us and our supporters we will have quite a bit to hold over Loghain and Howe." Teagan said softly from his corner of Eamon's room. "We have Elissa's account of what happened at Highever, as well as Ser Gilmore's testimony." He said as he looked over the list he'd compiled of all the provable claims they had against the two men. "He have Jowan's claim that he was taken from Chantry jurisdiction, and send here to poison Eamon to reduce any allies against them."

Eamon looked annoyed once more. He was angry that the mage had been conscripted by the Grey Wardens. He wanted someone to blame for his son's actions, and the mage could have been a good sacrifice for that. If it had been up to him he'd have sacrificed someone and kept Connor's magic a secret. He was too old for another heir that he could raise himself. He had no idea what to do about an heir now. He'd likely need to make Teagan his heir but his brother was going to need a young wife to father several children himself.

"If we can we should look into seeing if we can get the name of the Templar that captured Jowan. If he turned him over willingly, he's a co-conspirator to be used against them. If not Loghain subjugated the Chantry's authority and the Grand Cleric will not take that lightly." Elissa suggested helpfully. Teagan instantly bent over the little table to add that to his list of plays against Loghain.

"You'll ask Greagoir I assume to check with his Templars at Kinloch Hold?" Teagan asked her.

Elissa nodded with a simple smile. "Yes, I'm sure he'll be glad for the favor, and I'll let him know that the Templar in question will need to get to Denerim as soon as possible if found."

Eamon coughed once more to gain their attention. "That's a good start. We'll have to have more meetings later." He said with a tired yawn. It wasn't completely fake. He'd wanted a chance to get Alistair warmed to the idea of working with him while he seemed weak so he'd trust Eamon better, that plan was not going to work as long as he was attached to Elissa's skirts.

Teagan had mentioned he'd returned the locket and the ring to Alistair, but seeing it on the girl's hand was a blow. While Elissa Cousland was the best political match for Ferelden and would likely shut up all but the strongest of Loghain's supporters, she was not the best match for Alistair that Eamon wanted. Anora would have been a better match in his estimation. She was easy to sway, as long as she kept her crown she'd do just about anything to stay where she was, including letting Eamon run things his way and she'd accept a mistresses children as her own to avoid being dethroned. Elissa was not that soft, and her Cousland pride would never allow for some of the reforms Eamon would want done. He sighed with discontent. Of all the nobles Alistair had to go and fall in love with, it had to be the one most likely to being able to rule properly without his guidance in everything.

  


The next several days were hard as they travelled to Denerim. Elissa was steaming mad, not that anyone but Alistair and Rory knew it. They had never gotten around to cutting Alistair's hair, and now Teagan was suggesting they not do it at all. Instead he suggested they weave in some extensions and really play up the Cailan look-alike angle. Alistair accidently proving he could do a very good impersonation of Cailan’s voice had also been seen as a very good thing by Eamon. He'd said things like "Just act as Cailan would have" or "Sound just like him when you talk and people won't mistake you for a common field rat" had gotten Alistair's confidence so low he would barely look at anyone and Elissa was ready to skin Eamon alive.

Alistair wasn't even looking at Elissa that night. They were in the Spoiled Princess that evening once more, and Eamon had acted scandalized they were sharing a room, as if he wasn't aware they were sharing a tent. Now Alistair was even further embarrassed by the scene the man had made in front of the Generals and other members of the party.

"Alright enough." Elissa said to him kindly and kneeled in front of where he sat in his chair while he waited for her to change out of her armor and into a dress. They were supposed to be getting ready for their dinner. "I love you Alistair, but if you are going to let Eamon beat you down like this, I am going to have to kill him." She told him half-seriously.

Alistair gave her only a sad grimace. "Of course you won't my dear. That would be unbecoming." He replied in his Cailan impersonation voice.

Elissa recoiled from him. She got up and walked away from him and stood with her back to him as she gazed out the window. "Never do that with me again." She said coldly.

Alistair got up and walked up behind her. "I'm sorry." He said hesitantly.

She put her hands down and held on to the sill as hard as she could, her knuckles became bone white and the chill of the evening winter air was biting and helped cool her temper. She was so angry but she didn't want to take that out on him, he deserved so much better than he had received in his life. "What Eamon is asking you to do is an affront of two of the bravest men I've even known, and I won't stand for it anymore." She cried softly.

He placed his hands around her waist and pulled her back against him. He bowed his head so he could encase her in his embrace, touching her with reverence. She could feel his body heat through his linen shirt he'd changed into. "He doesn't see it that way." He said defending the man once more.

Elissa hated it. The way Alistair would immediately defend Eamon and Isolde, although he had stopped defending her recently. Eamon had banished Isolde to her rooms and she was not to come out or speak to anyone without Eamon's permission. So far it was the only thing the man had done that had Elissa's complete approval.

"Of course not. You are just a common field rat." She snarled. "While Cailan was a true Royal of his sister's blood." Alistair sagged against her. She knew how much those comments hurt him coming for someone whom he'd looked up to. "He is such an ass!" She snarled once more.

Alistair shrugged his shoulders. "Nothing we can do about that."

"There is." She said defiantly. She turned and smiled at him. "Do you trust me?" She asked as she placed both hands on his cheeks forcing him to look into her eyes. She loved the warm glow of his Ferelden amber eyes.

He looked deeply at her golden green orbs with curiosity but he immediately answered in the affirmative. "Always."

She gave him a sharp nod and pushed him back into a chair carefully. "My idea is to present you as you truly are. I want your hair cut the way you like, all short and spiky." She said warmly and smiling as she ran her fingers through his hair the way he liked. "As much as I like playing with the locks, I don't want them to add the knots of extra hair in it so I can't do this anymore."

He ran his hand over his hair nervously. "Good I wasn't looking forward to that either." He admitted with his previous humor beginning to come to life in his voice. It had been absent in recent days, which further fuelled Elissa's determination to present Alistair, not a Cailan look-a-like puppet.

"I also never want to you use that voice with me again, unless you are telling a very bad joke." She told him softly once more.

"That I will gladly give up." He said, relief made his whole body stand straighter with that burden lifted off him. Using the voice was even more of a confirmation that he wasn't good enough as he was. Elissa hated what it meant and to be honest he did look enough like Cailan that at times she was a bit worried what others would think. She knew she'd never been attracted to Cailan in any real sense. Obviously she'd thought him handsome, but his personality he had shown her prior to that night in Ostagar had never made him someone she wanted to be closer to, except as a friend.

She sat down in his lap and curled into the chest. He cuddled her closer to him and pulled her knees up so she was completely pressed against him and nuzzled her head, breathing in her scent. She raised her hand and pulled lightly at the ties of his shirt, not hard enough to open them but to run it through her fingers. "They are right that we need the other nobles to see your connection to Maric and Cailan, but I don't think making you _into_ Cailan is the way to go."

He stayed relaxed against her. When the others had made suggestions of this nature he'd always felt attacked. Like he wasn't good enough. He didn't know if it was Elissa's approach to the topic, or if it was how much he trusted her, perhaps it was both, but Alistair didn't feel that knot of dread that normally fill him whenever someone tried to discuss how he should be at the Landsmeet. "How do you want me to be?"

Elissa sat up and put her legs down over his lap and stared at him with a look on annoyance. "I want you to be you. Caring, protective and most of all supportive. That is all I have ever wanted. You being you." She told him honestly.

Alistair gave her the first real smile he'd had since seeing Eamon that first meeting in his room. "Thank you."

She rubbed her temples as if she had a headache to push the tension she felt in her head away before it became a full blown headache. He brushed her hands away and took over rubbing them for her. "Oh that feels good." She moaned. The sound didn't do Alistair any favors as it reminded him of the sounds she made at night, but she was finally relaxing so he pushed those thoughts aside.

"You still haven't told me your idea." He reminded her with a whisper and a light kiss to her forehead.

"Cailan's armor is unique but it's design was styled after Maric's." She sighed with pleasure as the tension in her head lessened under his fingers. "I want to get a set of Theirin Heralded Armor made for you, it will to look enough like his that your bloodline will be obvious, that heraldry and your looks, but still unique enough to be _yours_ and not Maric's or Cailan's. I want it made out of the dragon skin and bone from your kill." She added a moan at the end as the last of her tension was rubbed away by his gentle hands as he moved his fingers down the back of her neck chasing the tense muscles down to her shoulders.

Alistair beamed down at her. "That I can live with." He said happily, his smiled was the best thing Elissa had seen in days. "If you'd asked that I wear his armor, I'd have uncomfortable... but my own version, I can certainly live with that."

She smiled up at him. "I was thinking of adding the Grey Warden Griffins on the shoulder guard cloak attachments. It would certainly be one way to show you are Alistair instead of Cailan, also the armor is likely to end up black with this little amount of time before the Landsmeet. No armorer will have time to bleach and color the skin and bone."

"I like black, it doesn't show blood so well." He said pleased and feeling so much lighter than he had earlier. "Guess Rory will have to be the Knight in Shining Armor at the Landsmeet." He chuckled.

She snickered with him. "More like Solona." They giggled together and cuddled for a bit. "Let me cut your hair?" She begged him. "I want my Alistair back, not this Cailan look-alike." She said as she ran her hand through his hair.

He kissed her softly. "Please before someone does put those damn braids in my hair."

"Those braids are Ferelden history." She tease him by using a snooty noble tone and bearing.

He guffawed. "They pull on my hair and I hate them. That's one reason why I keep my hair so short."

"Well then, let's get rid of your long locks my love." She said as she ran her hand through them one last time before she wet his hair and began to cut it very short in the back but left his spiky hair on top. It was one of the first things she'd noticed about him, and she was glad to see them back standing in every direction when she was done.

Dinner had been almost as much of a disaster as the earlier fit Eamon had thrown. He had pitched a fit at Alistair's hair like some Orlisian debutante finding her dress was the wrong color. It was only after Elissa pointed out that he'd be in Theirin armor and she'd had Cailan's armor, the set he had died in repaired and ready to go that Eamon had calmed down enough to let the hair issue go.

Alistair had almost laughed when he saw how effortlessly she'd made Eamon think he'd be wearing Cailan's armor. That wasn't why she wanted it in Denerim with them. She wanted proof they had in fact taken care of Cailan's body and she wanted to have a second funeral for him for the people once the Blight was dealt with. His armor would make a good effigy for the pyre.

When they were alone in their room that night he had spoken to Elissa at length about who his brother had actually been. She admitted she hadn't known him as well as she would have liked, but she did go into detail about what Cailan had said to her at Ostagar about Alistair. She told Alistair how his brother had actually wished he'd known about Alistair so they could have grown up in the palace together. How he'd wished for a brother or even a sister all his life. She told him how Cailan had been angry with Eamon for sending him away to the Chantry to protect Cailan, instead of doing what was best for him. Finally she told him Cailan had even told Elissa about how angry he was that Eamon hadn't seen to it that he was fostered out to be a knight or offered him a chance at the Royal Guard.

Alistair still had trouble understanding how Cailan could have not known about him before that. They had met very briefly once when he was a child at Redcliffe. Elissa explained just how little Cailan left Denerim, and when there how he hardly had left the Palace, and never without guards to keep people from trying to kill him. Cailan likely didn't even remember the visit to Redcliffe, but while there Eamon would have made sure they Cailan never spent any time near Alistair is possible.

Alistair was happy to hear that his life as Prince-Consort would not include the restrictions Cailan had been under. That as a Grey Warden he would be able to leave without guards and live his life as he needed to and wanted for the most part. Solona would still be his Commander, but he'd likely be posted to Denerim, and instead of bodyguard's he'd have a trusted Warden be his assistant the way he had been for Duncan who would also act as a bodyguard. There was a training compound there, and he'd be there to personally train the new recruits like he had been. Elissa hoped Rory might be willing until they could finds someone that was as politically savvy and someone Alistair liked even half as much.

They were getting close to the gates of Denerim now. He and the rest of the Party along with all the guards of Redcliffe pulled their hoods up. Eamon and Isolde were in the carriage. The large amount of guards were to help. A small group had gone to Soldier's Peak to get Jowan and he had met them at Kinloch Hold, somehow he'd managed to avoid the Templars and was seated in the supply wagon, in his warden uniform behind the packaged crates.

They had been unmolested as far as Darkspawn or Loghain's troops. Many of the local Banns they passed by joined their procession. At this point there were so many people trying to get into the city in part for first day celebrations and the nobles arriving for the Landsmeet there was no way to search every wagon, carriage, or check each guard. The city guard just waved the noble parties in. Arl Eamon wasted no time in getting the group to his estate located in the market district.

Solona had taken Alistair, Jowan, Rory and Zevran into her room to perform Zevran's Joining. Solona was quite nervous as this would be her first Joining since her own that would not have the flower involved. She knew without it Jowan would be dead, so she was concerned that Zevran would also fall victim to the blight. When his eyes rolled back white and he'd grabbed his throat before falling backwards into Rory's arm she had nearly cried. She rushed forward to see if he was alive. I quick spell told her not only was he fine, but he was adapting quickly to the poison. She breathed a sigh of relief while Alistair made the Warden's Oath for Zevran before he left to tell Elissa the good news. Morrigan who had been nearby had actually smiled and she too looked happy to hear of the elf's survival. She just walked away with a simple congratulations.

With the confusion of moving in, the rooms being switched and arranged, and the Joining ceremony, Alistair and Elissa managed to sneak out of the estate for a few hours and roam the marketplace a little to enjoy the Firstday Celebrations. Elissa knew where the best places for food were and they enjoyed some of the fair food and warm spiced mulled wines in the cold winter streets. There were lots of warming tents where people stood around and gossiped.

Unlike in previous years the atmosphere of the celebrations seemed quite dour to Elissa. The people were worried, many had missing loved ones, or displaced family that hadn't checked in with anyone. Most of the missing were from Ostagar, or the Southron Hills area. They had been given up for dead.

There were a few rumors that caught their attention. Elissa being the Warden-Commander was still going around. Both Elissa and Alistair had smiled about that as they cuddled together drinking their warm spiced drinks in one such warming tent. The Alienage being closed due to a disease that only affected elves was worrying. Queen Anora hadn't been seen in public since Ostagar, although she was sometimes seen from her balcony at the palace so no one thought she was dead, just in mourning. Rumors about the army encampment in Kinloch Hold was being attributed to Elissa, or to Eamon and they were expected to challenge Loghain, but no one was sure.

The biggest worry seemed to be the truth of whether or not the Grey Wardens would come stop the darkspawn since Loghain was calling them traitors. The lies Loghain had put out were at war with the truth that the Wardens had been telling the refugees before they entered Orzammar, and the people they told and so on. The people wanted to believe in their heroes of old, not a power hungry usurper who might have abandoned the king on the battlefield so he could take his crown. The newest rumor had to do with Cailan having an heir and Loghain trying desperately to have the heir killed.

Elissa and Alistair made sure to support the anti-Loghain rumors, and kept quiet on the others. Overall the couple had a good time and walked back to the estate a little cold, but happy. They shared the news and some special treats with the others and made plans for the next day when the shops would be open. While Elissa and Alistair went to bed, the rest went out to enjoy the festivities while they could. Elissa made sure to tell them where the best vendors were.

Solona looked around the Pearl and laughed. She'd heard stories from Anders and surprisingly Alistair about the place. She was looking forward to a little fun that wouldn't get her in trouble with anyone as her libido was still raging strongly. It was only Zevran, Rory, Solona and a strangely upbeat Morrigan who had made it this far. Leliana had something else she'd wanted to look into, Wynne had stopped at a few shops in the market before finding herself too tired and she returned to the estate with Shale and Sten. Jowan had been sequestered in his room once they finished with Zevran’s Joining, not wanting to run into the Arl or Arlessa and to stay hidden until after the Landsmeet. Solona was sure to send even more treats back with Wynne for him, she didn't trust Sten with the cookies and cakes. Teagan was actually staying at his own place in the city and was likely with other nobles within their alliance, which was good. Elissa had suggested that it might be better if they weren't seen together in Denerim.

She'd had a private conversation with him about it before they left Redcliffe. He'd been shocked and applaud at her actual age. He'd thought she was much older almost twenty five at least, and he'd thought she was a little too young when he'd thought that. He'd avoided her since which was too bad because she had been looking forward to some fun with him.

Scanning the room while she was seated between Rory and Zevran gave her a chance to take in the atmosphere before having to make any type of move or choice of companion for the night. The most interesting looking person was a pirate, she was cleaning the clocks of a group of rival mercenaries at Wicked Grace. Even from where she sat Solona could tell when the pirate was bluffing. The woman would rub her thighs together before she switched out cards and then she relaxed them, which considering she didn't have pants on under her long shift was likely where she was hiding her cards.

Zevran leaned over to whisper in her ear. "That woman you are staring at is Isabella. She looks delicious does she not?"

Solona looked intrigued, but not in the way the men were assuming. "I was actually watching to see how she was cheating."

Zevran chuckled warmly. "Would you like an introduction? You will never met anyone better with a pair of daggers."

She looked the woman over again, she was a little too obvious with her staring while she was looking for scars to evaluate Zevran's opinion because not only Rory, but the woman in question noticed her appraising of her body.

"Andraste's flaming tits are you planning on going after the pirate?" Rory asked looking more than a little uncomfortable and turned on by the thought. Solona didn't notice as she was still looking for scars. She had to be as good as Zevran had said because on skin that dark, scars were usually obvious and Solona wasn't finding any!

"Zevran was thinking of introducing me to her, want to join in?" Solona asked, unaware he hadn't heard her conversation with Zevran. Rory nearly choked on his drink but allowed his eyes to skip between the two and he smirked.

"Definitely." He breathed more than a little excited by the idea. More than he should be, he had to remind himself.

It was actually a hand where Isabella hadn't cheated on when the mercenary decided he'd had enough losing and tried to take Isabella out with his dagger from across the table. Solona was quick to stand but Zevran held her back. "Just watch mi Commander." He said softly in her ear.

Isabella was beautiful and deadly. The mercenary was down and out for the count and so were three of his friends. No blood, just out cold from perfect hilt strikes to their temples. She did a spin with her daggers out to be sure no one else was going to come up on her. Zevran pulled Solona forward as the pirate relaxed and began to gather her winnings off the table. Obviously this wasn't the first brawl of this nature and the Pearl had bolted the tables to the floor.

"Very nice work Bella." Zevran said as the group walked up to Isabella. "How are you my dear?"

The woman turned with her dagger in hand but it disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared. "Zev baby!" She called out as she hugged him and rubbed her body over his front while doing so. "It's been so long."

"It will be a while longer." Morrigan said from beside the elf, Solona felt her access the Fade and pull enough mana to light up her fingers with an icy glow.

"Morrigan, not here!" Solona hissed. "Templars frequent the Pearl." That was how Anders had been caught the time he came here she remembered.

Morrigan rolled her eyes but let the glow disappear. Isabella looked over Morrigan and smiled. "Oh honey I had her pegged as an apostate the moment she walked in." She said with a husky voice. "But you darling are confusing me." She purred as she ran her fingertip down Solona's neck from her ear to where her armor blocked access passed her collarbone. "Can you use those fancy daggers of yours?"

Solona was a bit startled by how good the fingernail of Isabella's finger running down her neck had felt. "A little." She admitted with a slight stutter.

Rory chuckled and stepped up behind her so she was pressed against his back unable to back away from an advancing Isabella. "She is quite the deadly little thing when she tries to be." He said suggestively. The warmth of his breath near her ear was making her shiver with lust. It was one thing for her to admire him from afar when they were on the road. She could easily deal with it and move on and kick herself for fantasizing about a close comrade later. It was another to be trapped between his metal clad body and the loose flesh of the woman in front of her who seemed to have no personal boundaries.

"Allow me to introduce Solona Amell Warden-Commander of Ferelden, and Ser Roland Gilmore." Zevran said in a voice meant to stay within their group as he pointed to both Rory and Solona. "And this is Morrigan of the Wilds." He said waving to the prickly woman in his arms.

Isabella's eyebrows went up. "Amell... That's a name I haven't heard in a while." She said thoughtfully. "Nobles I think..." She said as she seemed to be thinking while tapping her lips with the tip of her fingernail.

"Kirkwall." Solona said helpfully as she once more gave the woman a look over.

Isabella smiled wickedly. "That's why I had trouble placing you kitten. You sound too Ferelden to be a Marcher." She brushed a little closer to Solona, her breast rubbing against her arm, _almost_ accidently.

Solona chuckled nervously as Rory began to rub her arms lightly and brushing the tip of his finger along Isabella's breast. "Born there, but transfer to Kinloch Hold." She stammered out a little flustered by Rory's actions and the overly forward woman.

Isabella's eyes gleamed. "Oh, then you must know how to have fun, but do you want to learn how to use those daggers lovely girl?"

Solona cocked her head to the side. "You're offering to train me?" She could see tiny knicks on Isabella now that she was this close but since the woman didn't wear armor she was still impressed with the lack of scars.

Isabella nodded and abruptly stepped away. "We'll go to my room, we'll be less likely to stab a handsy patron that way." She turned and began to lead the way into the back. Solona looked up at Rory but his eyes were fixed on Isabella's ass.

"I'd hurry to follow. She does not offer to teach often." Zevran encouraged softly.

Solona nodded and hurried after her with Rory a step behind her. The next hour saw Solona and Rory strip down to their under armor pants and shirt and bare foot since their armor was too heavy for the moves Isabella was showing them. Rory and Isabella spent that time working her up into a sweat showing her with cloth wrapped daggers how to move and dance so that her weapons would be most effective. She had the knowledge of a warrior mage in her mind, but know she was learning how to actually move like one. Things she knew, now had a movement attached to it. And in that hour she improved dramatically, as she began to piece things together. After an hour Isabella smiled and stood back admiring Solona.

"I think in a week I could have you dancing like a courtesan." She said seductively as she ran a hand down Solona's sweaty arm.

"So, I should come here every night this week?" Solona asked completely innocently, unintentionally making an offer she wasn't aware of. In the Circle they used a much different approach and hand signs to show interest.

Isabella laughed sinfully. "Afternoons will be fine kitten, I prefer other activates at night." She looked over at Rory and purred softly. "And I think we've kept this one waiting long enough." She licked at her lips as she wrapped one of her arms around Solona and licked her neck from her shoulder to her ear.

Solona's eyes rolled up as Isabella licked at some unknown spot that made pleasure explode behind her eyes and shoot down her spine. Rory chuckled and started to move forward. She felt him behind her and could feel just how turned on he was. His cock was rock hard and pressed against her lower back and he pulled her closer to him. Isabella's eye lit up as she pulled him forward to kiss her right beside Solona's ear as she was pressed between them.

Solona had never really been turned on by a woman before, but Isabella was running her hands over her hips while Rory's hands were beginning to run down her shoulders and over her breasts. Solona was surprised to find having the added friction of Isabella's very full breasts pushing against her own was making her heart race. She moaned with a stunned pant.

Solona's eyes were wide as she suddenly registered what was happening and she opened her mouth to protest only to have Isabella give her one of the hottest kisses she'd ever received. She moaned and leaned back into Rory's cock, her hands went to his hips and she grasped them tightly as Isabella stuck her tongue further into her mouth and then sucked on her tongue. The sensation was spine-tingling and so very arousing.

Rory's hand flowed down her sides and moved to the front of her pants to the ties that held them up. Isabella chuckled as she stepped back and watched Rory's hands as she moved down into Solona's smalls and cup her cunt. "I don't think she's done this before." Isabella purred.

"Done what?" Solona moaned softly. She knew she was suppose to be saying no to something, but for the life of her she couldn't remember what it was.

"Maybe not, but it was her idea." Rory's voice rumbled deeply, she could feel it vibrating through her.

"Really." Isabella said sounding a little impressed. "In that case kitten, this is going to be a lot of fun."

Rory chuckled slyly. "More than you know, we're both Grey Wardens."

Isabella's eyes popped open. "Both of you, not just her?"

Rory was licking his way down her neck, biting and sucking softly while his fingers played so softly with her slit that she was arching her back to get more pressure, keeping her just on the pleasure side of hazy. "Both of us." He confirmed.

"Well then let's get out of these clothes, no need for extended foreplay if you can keep going all night." Isabella moaned with anticipation. It took a few flicks of her wrist for Isabella to let her tunic fall to the ground and step out of her smalls and breast band.

Solona gasped as Rory yanked on the ties of her smalls and she felt Isabella kneel in front of her and pull her pants down around her ankles. "What?" She gasped as she jerked back from Isabella's face near Rory's fingers which were now playing shallowly inside her while the edge of his thumb was rubbing against her clit. Rory pinched her nipple with his other hand. Both of them were doing a very good job of keeping her occupied, she had no time to think about the situation.

"Oh kitten, you are going to be a delight." Isabella giggled. "She is so innocent."

Rory chuckled. "Don't let her fool you. She fucked a noble in front of the soldiers and staff. This one will do anything she's asked to do." He bit her ear and neck. "Isn't that right Commander?"

Solona moaned and ripped at Rory's ties on his pants. She'd gotten a flash of heat and she was turned on even more remembering that first night with Teagan. Rory groaned and thrust his hips instinctively into her hands. Her fingers managed to pull the ties loose and Isabella grabbed them and pulled the down before sliding her body up Solona's naked one.

"Oh I like the obedient ones." Isabella chuckled. She turned and sashayed her way over to the bed and leaned her back against the fancy headboard. "Why don't you get her fully ready?"

Rory put his hands on her sides and slide them up under her shirt and pushed it up and he splayed his fingers open and felt as much as her skin as he could while he ran his nose up her neck nipping at her and breathing heavily on her, his breath moist and hot. She felt so damn good but with him behind her had her slightly apprehensive as she looked towards the female pirate who was sitting with her legs wide open and her fingers rubbing at the completely bare pussy. Solona was a little intimidated by the sexual goddess on the bed watching their every move.

Rory played and pinched for a moment before he pulled her shirt off and he yanked the strings on the breast band yanking it violent off. "Maker I've wanted to do that for months now." He moaned as he turned her and kissed her deeply. His hands were on her ass lifting her up and rubbing her slit along his cock. Solona's hands went around his neck and she kissed him back.

""We really shouldn't be doing this." She moaned when they broke for air. Her cunt was leaking her arousal all over him.

He stopped and looked into her eyes. "You want to stop?" He asked her. His tone and face told her he world if she said the word. It was against every rule she'd ever had, never sleep with someone you have to work or deal with, it causes drama. Drama was dangerous to everyone not just you, that's why she lived by those rules.

"This can't change things." She said breathlessly. Her body reacted to the idea of him pulling away from her by tightening around him. She wanted him, badly, desperately. Too many nights she'd wondered what he'd feel like, taste like, smell like when he was deep inside her.

He groaned and bucked his hips against her. "One night! I can deal with that." He began to kiss her hard again and carried her toward the bed.

"Maybe." She moaned. As much as she knew she should have agreed, right now she didn't want to think about the end of the night, she just wanted him, all of him.

Isabella chuckled. "You both are so cute." She crawled over to where Rory had placed Solona. She looked to Rory. "How do you want to do this then Rory. You ready to lead this little party?"

He sucked in a breath. He'd been with two woman before, last month in this very building, but they had been professionals and had taken control. He also had very little memory of that night thanks to a bottle of Antivan whiskey. He knew what Solona had done with Teagan and he knew Isabella was up for things even he shied away from. He did know how he wanted to start, it was the same fantasy every teenage boy had.

" I want to taste her, and I want you sucking my cock." He told her with a deep kiss while he fondled Solona's bare breast.

Isabella purred with delight at how decisive he was. "Whatever the Warden wants, he gets, right Commander?" She asked while pinching Solona's ass making her yelp and arch into Rory's hand. He moved to lay back on his back and he gently dragged Solona towards his face, his one hand never leaving her breast. She bit her lip alluringly as she straddled his shoulders.

Isabella waited for that moment to begin taking Rory's cock fully into her mouth in one deep swallow before sliding it slowly back out of her mouth until just the crown of his nice thick and very tasty cock was encased in her mouth. He threw his head back at the unexpected sensation, since he couldn't see Isabella she had managed to surprise him with her sudden deep throating instead of the licking he'd expected.

Solona moved forward presenting her cunt to his mouth as he opened his eyes. "Finally." He moaned as he brought his arms around her thighs to bring her closer to his mouth. The first lick was slow with his tongue wide and flat. Her taste was like watered honey and pure sex. Her look of amazed pleasure was worth every night he'd been dreaming of seeing that look on her face. It was more arousing in reality than he could have ever truly imagined.

Isabella was even better than the professionals he'd fucked when it came to sucking his cock, and he could feel her stroking his pucker to send those waves of extra pleasure through his groin. Rory was in no hurry to take care of Isabella, he'd get to her, but he really wanted to draw out the pleasure he was giving Solona. He changed the angle and shape of his tongue was dipping inside her and his fingers reached down to pleasure her clit. She moved her hips beginning to ride his face, he shifted his hands so his fingers entered her searching for the spot inside her that was slightly rougher. Finding it he pushed on it while suckling her clit into his mouth with a gentle suckle.

Solona screamed with pleasure as her first orgasm of the night ripped through her without any real warning. "FUCK!" She cried out as she grabbed the headboard with both hands to stop herself from falling forward. Rory was breathing deeply taking in her scent and taste. Her cunt was now just slightly out of reach unless he lifted up his head, which he did to take one more lick, making Solona jump and dismounted his body. Isabella gave him a very deep and strong suckle at that moment making his turn his full attention to the pirate. He had to admit the sight was very arousing. Isabella's dark skin and her very red lips wrapped tightly around his very hard cock was truly a vision most men would love to see before they died.

"Sole, go put your fingers in our friend." Rory ordered her, not taking his eyes off of Isabella's. She was going to get as much attention as she needed now as a thank you for helping him get Solona into bed.

Solona looked a little apprehensive but jumped to follow his orders. She crawled up behind Isabella who was now on her knees with her ass in the air waiting for Solona to begin fingering her while Rory laid back to watch the two girls work. Solona's actions made Isabella moan and suck faster. Between the sight and the pirate's skills he was ready to burst in minutes. Isabella took his warning at the last second removed him from her mouth and pumped him until he got to watch his cock shoot out streams of cum that landed on and dripped down over her dark bare breasts.

Isabella wasn't too far from coming herself so Rory sat back and watched Isabella ride Solona's fingers. Solona must have done something unexpected and possibly magical because Isabella went from moaning to screaming in pleasure and falling down on the bed withering like she'd been hit with lightening. Rory was pretty such she didn't use lightening spells, at least he'd never seen her use one.

It took Isabella a few second to recover and she glared at Solona with narrowed eyes. "Damn mages and their magical fingers." She groaned as she lay there boneless, and still twitching.

Solona bit her lip in embarrassment. "Sorry... I guess I over did that one." She blushed and looked up at Rory, her blush deepened further. "I cast a special type of healing spell that sends pulses into the nerves to cause them to fire."

Rory chuckled at her sheepish expression. "And that set off her orgasm did it?"

She looked more child-like as she gave him a bashful smile. "I wanted to try that out. I heard it was possible to do to women, it's more tricky for men, but never got the chance before."

"I'll tell you kitten, that is the best way to go." She said softly looking up at Rory. "You should let her try it on you later, even you will be down for the night if she does that."

"You're not down are you?" He asked with a leer. "The Great Pirate Queen done in by a girl-mage?"

Isabella chuckled. "Not for the night, but I could watch for a bit." She said with heated eyes and another tremble. "Damn spell is still working."

Rory didn't need anymore prompting then that to drag Solona back into his lap and begin to kiss her. There were so many ways he'd imagined taking her. The first time however he wanted to see her eyes. He kissed her for a bit, getting ready to fulfill his fantasy. Now that he had her, he wanted it to be as good as those fantasies he'd been having for nearly a month. Those thought were in part fueled by the stories of her and Teagan, but others just because he wanted _her_. Once she was relaxed enough he got between her legs and smiled down at her. "Grab that headboard." He ordered her with a smirk of satisfaction. "You're going to need it." His voice held a hint of warning.

Solona stared into his eyes and moaned at the intensity she saw there, and she reached up to placed her hands securely around the bottom of the boards, bracing herself for what she assumed was going to be hard fast fuck. It didn't start out that way at all. Instead Rory was tender, kissing her and pressing his fingers into her clit softly. She moaned softly, sighing out his name. That seemed to make him excited and happy so she kept her eyes open watching him as he worked her body. Like Isabella he seemed to know how to touch seemingly innocent parts of her, like that spot on her neck, her shoulder, her knee and her inner thighs, all of them had her arching and aching for more. He kept kissing her too, but he hadn't penetrated her yet, he was rubbing his arousal along her slit but never pulled back far enough to even possibly attempt to enter her. Even as she arched and lifted her hips, the tip was too high or too far from the bottom of her slit to slip inside.

"Rory please." She moaned as she tried once more to slide inside her. "Stop teasing me." She whined as she gain lifted her hips but knowing it was going to fail, crying out in frustration she hit him in the arm ineffectively with her fist.

He looked down at her with a look that bordered an arrogant, and in any other situation she'd be tempted to make him regret that smirk. "You want my cock Commander?" He asked her with a voice dripping in sin as he growled out her title.

The way he said Commander made her feel flushed with heat. It was just saturated with innuendo that she shivered with desire. "Yes." She whimpered once more.

"I don't know, you made me wait for it, maybe you should wait a little longer?" He teased her with a long stroke of his velvety cock against her clit, and he sucked on her throat making a nice small but dark mark from the bite.

She cried out and she scratched his shoulders with her short nails. He could feel she'd come close but not actually drawn blood, but damn he liked it. "Please don't!" She begged wantonly. "I want it! I want you! Please I really, really want you to fuck me! Please Rory!"

"Pretty words Kitten." Bella said from beside them. "But I think you need to said it better than that." She moved up so she could see them both back was back far enough that she could see the whole show.

Solona looked up pleading with Rory to take her, but he held firm and stopped moving, instead to pushed his cock hard down on her slit. "Say it Sole. Tell me every dirty word in your mind right now. Tell me what you want!" He voice was rough, dangerous and so commanding that she felt heat slide through her body from her core to her extremities and back to coil in her belly.

She groaned and blushed but she stare at him as she started to babble. "I want your cock so hard and fast I feel it in my back, I want you to fuck me, and not stop until we pass out, I want that cock inside my cunt, my mouth and I want it in every way you'll give it to me."

Rory's breath caught as his eyes turned almost black with desire and pure lust. While his fantasy had more dirty words in it, her choice of words had a way better effect on him than any he'd imagined, he'd never felt so aroused in his life. "Then you better have a good grip." Was all the warning he gave her as he easily slammed home his cock inside her extremely wet cunt. Rory knew he was slightly larger and longer than average, but Solona was so tight that it wouldn't have mattered if he'd been a tiny man. The heat and tightness had been unexpected. He felt pride as Solona gasped almost in pain, he knew from the surprised look on her face he was bigger than her other lovers, and it made him very happy.

Bella was chuckling at the couple as they stared at each other and the looks past between them. She loved being part of a loving couple threesome. It was very stimulating to watch them please each other then work together to please her. It was obvious to her they had never fucked before, even during the training they'd done first, so watching this after that amazing orgasm she'd been given was a delight.

Rory moved a little slow at first, but his long strides were making Solona thrash with delight. "Rory please, just fuck me!" She begged urgently while she threw her head back and her eyes rolled up in complete rapture.

"No!" He said harshly. "If this is the only time I get to do this I want to savor it." He said with smoldering eyes. "I want to remember it." He snarled harshly.

Solona looked deeply into his eyes but they were so intense. "Can't, shouldn't be now." She groaned as she looked away. "Feels so good." She moaned with ecstasy.

He gave her one very hard fast thrust and stopped while he was buried deep inside her. "Why not Sole. We both want it." He shivered with his desire and need to move faster now that he'd had that taste. She whimpered and writhed under him, her cunt clutching his cock tighter as she thrashed against him.

"Don't fuck with someone too close, used to hurt you." She moaned out her explanation as she tried to rock her hips deeper into him.

"Rory honey, it's mage thing." Bella warned him softly as she stroked his back, she could tell he was about to make a mistake that would cost him much more than a night in the sack with the girl of his dreams if he didn't back-off. "Let it go, she can't, she's conditioned this way." She whispered to him and then she licked his ear shell.

Rory looked over at Bella's sad eyes as she looked at his Commander, impaled on his cock begging for something she thought she wasn't allowed to have. He finally understood why she'd pulled away from him when he'd shown interest in bedding her. He decided to give her exactly what she wanted for one night at least. With one last tender kiss, he pulled back and began to thrust into her with all the anger and passion he had. His anger at the Templar Order for making her fear intimacy, making their relationship an impossible fantasy, and the passion he felt for her, the way she was so strong and yet so feminine made him want to love her. What he felt was already so damn close, but he'd deal with that tomorrow. Right now he had her and he was going to enjoy it.

Her cries were loud and punctuated with him name repeatedly. He could feel her getting ready to explode with bliss and he braced himself to hold on until she did. It was very close, she screamed his name and Rory roared hers thrusting harder than he had ever dared to before for that last thrust, keeping himself as deep as possible as he rode out his pleasure and hers. The strokes short, but so enjoyable.

He rolled to the side and placed his arm over his eyes so as to not show how much the thought of never doing that again bothered him. Isabella was moving though, and he felt her bypass him and move over to Sole. He turned to his side to watch as Isabella moved between Solona's legs and began to lap up the mixed juices of their coupling.

"Well aren't the two of you just delicious." Bella decreed with a huge grin. Solona gasped and tried to move away. Isabella was moving once more to lick at Solona's slit but instead of licking there she turned Solona over. "Poor girl, do you need time to recover from that pounding?" She purred as she ran her nails down Solona's back softly, she noticed the scar and ran her nails around it. Solona nodded with closed eyes and shivered from the sensation of those nails being dragged so softly over and around her spine.

"Yes, his cock is much bigger than I'm used to." She moaned softly. "Very sensitive."

Rory sighed contently at that. Laying on his back he could feel his cock was still hard, knowing he needed to care for Isabella made him reach out, and pull her away from Sole who looked ready to sleep already. He placed the Pirate over his cock and lowered her onto himself. "Fucked a number of mages I take it?" He said lightly, but he didn't fool her one bit.

"Oh a fair few." She said with s coy look as she began to ride him. It was always interesting when they talked to you while fucking. They got distracted and it drew the encounter out, not that he was going to need help in that department this evening. He was good enough to rub her clit for her, which made her happy that while he was distracted by the girl he was at least considerate of her needs too. From this high up she could see Sole wasn't actually sleeping but was watching their movements with fascination. Two wardens together would have fucked her to death if they weren't interested in each other too, Isabella decided. She made a note to never propose a threesome with two unattached wardens ever again.

"They all like that?" He asked with a grunt as he thrust up hard. That anger of his was coming in handy yet again as it made Isabella moan with pleasure this time.

"Pretty much... They know a lot about getting off fast and quick, but not long drawn out affairs, and some of them have little tricks like your friend." She explained while enjoying the efforts of the younger man.

He looked angry again as he thrust harder. Bella was loving it, so she decided to tease him and make him use it. "They hardly ever get involved with anyone long-term, any romantic entanglements' means the Templars can use it. Some of the Templars use the affection for another to extort sex from them." That got a violent response, and Isabella was nearly bounced the whole length of him by his own momentum.

"More often they transfer one of the couple to another Circle." Solona said softly.

Rory shut up now that he knew Solona was listening. He focused on the woman over him, and tried to block out everything he'd just heard and enjoy the rest of the night. Bella was certainly an expert at her craft and had him refocused and making her come twice before he lifted her off his cock, Solona was moving restlessly beside him, and he did want to have another round with her.

Bella moved Solona so she was sitting in Rory's lap and she came to them with a bottle of oil. "Shall we prepare her?" She asked him as she held up the oil for him to see.

Rory's eyes lit up and he nodded while Solona's eyes were fixated on the lyrium blue oil. Rory grabbed her ass and spread it out moving her hips so Bella could coat them both in the oil easily. Bella spread some of the cool oil on her fingers and proceeded to dip her fingers into the valley between his hands and stroking the pucker with her fingertips. Both of them gasped as she bucked towards Bella's fingers.

"I see someone taught her to like this." Bella chuckled. She moved the cool oil around the outside before dipping the tip of her finger inside. "That's good, since women only ever get to bottom it's good to learn to love it."

Rory was fascinated by the visceral reaction Solona was having. He'd never seen a woman want anal sex the way Solona seemed to. Bella was watching with the satisfaction of knowing she was going to get a great show. Solona was quiet but vocal as Bella began working her ass with her fingers. "She is very good at this." Bella licked her lips and dipped down to lick at the spicy cool oil very near the pucker making Solona jump even further into Rory's chest. He was having to hold her down now as she writhed back and forth.

"Just coat me! I want to see how she likes being ridden like this." He panted, with passionate yearning.

Bella moved to pour the oil over him but she used a warm light red one instead. "This will make it more intense." She explained with a wicked grin on her lips. "She's coated in cold, and you in hot." He felt the warming oil coat his cock with Bella's skilled fingers getting the oil over every inch of his cock as she made it rock hard once more.

He lifted Solona up and placed his cock at her ass. "Whenever you rea-" was as far as he got before Solona had pushed herself halfway down his cock and both of them cried out at the sensation of the oil mixing and the joining itself. Solona in her sex-crazed haze had forgotten he was bigger than she was used to, and in her desire to feel him inside her again she'd caused herself some pleasurable pain.

Rory was just amazed that she could be even tighter than before, and Bella watched with desire as she moved forward so she could lick at Rory's balls and Solona's clit as they moved. The couple above her were on sensory overload as Solona slide all the way down his cock. She sat still getting used to the fullness and then she began to ride him, each thrust and pull making the mixed oils send additional flares of ice and heat through their nervous systems. It was only a few minutes before Rory changed their position so he could look at her as he fucked her. He hooked Solona's knees by his elbows and curled her up so he could watch as his cock entered her or he could look up and watch her face and eyes with their clouded passion.

Bella wasn't one to be left out so she moved behind Rory and placed her oiled hand near his ass and rubbed him. His hiss of enjoyment and the subtle movement of his ass towards her questing fingers had her smiling and placing them just inside him as he plunged all the way inside Solona's ass. She timed her thrusting fingers to be in time with his own plunging cock, so every time he pulled back out Isabella thrust her fingers deeply in. Rory was soon unable to tell if it was the in-stroke or out-stroke that felt better. Solona had come already, and was watching in awed fascination as Isabella skillfully unmade the enormously impressive warrior above her.

Rory being made mindless and thrusting with abandon was a marvel to watch, particularly from this angle. His sweat-slicked muscles were glorious in the firelight and his expression was a testament to his almost painful blissful pleasure. When he came this time his roaring was beyond coherent and when he was finally spent he collapsed to the side yanking himself out of Solona more because of gravity pulling him into its embrace on the bed rather than by his own intention.

It was finally his turn to lay there boneless as Isabella and Solona moved towards each other. Solona rubbed her ass softly deciding immediately not to heal the ache from the pounding she'd received. She want to remember that for a few days and she was sure the ache would last at least that long.

Isabella was watching with curiosity to see what the female Warden would do, as she was obviously not experienced with pleasuring any female but herself. Isabella was a strong woman but the warden mage was quick and she suddenly found herself laying on her back pinned to the bed. The girl smiled shyly down at her and whispered in her ear. "What do they like about watching woman so much? I want to give him something to think about when I can't give it to him, please." She looked deeply into Isabella's eyes.

Bella smiled tenderly to her. "Men are visual creatures. They enjoy the watching."

"Show me how to make him wild like that again." she asked shyly. "I've never been taken like that and I want it one more time before the night is over."

Isabella gave her a sad smile and cupped her cheek and kissed her slowly. "Kitten, he's going to fall in love with you if you're not careful. He's pretty much there."

Solona gave her a sad look. "I know, but I'm destined for someone else." she said cryptically. "And he knows it."

Isabella nodded slowly. "Are you sure Kitten, this could be too much for him. He's already teetering."

"Yes." She breathed. "I want to fulfill every fantasy I can with this one night because I get the feeling this will be our last chance, for both him and me for such a thing before we both will need to focus on being Wardens for possibly what little there is left of our lives." She kissed Bella with abandon, imagining it was Rory she was kissing, making it easier to place so much passion into the kiss. It wasn't that Bella wasn't skilled, it was just Solona didn't get as much pleasure out of it as she did with Rory. If she was honest with herself she was half in love with him too, and the thought of him dying at the hands of the Archdemon were the focus of some of her more intense nightmares.

Isabella made it easy for her. She moved them so Rory could watch them lick, suck and finger each other. Solona was very good at giving as much as she was receiving, and Isabella was doing her best to give Rory the show Solona wanted him to have. Not that it was a hardship to do, Solona's fingers were so clever that two orgasms later Bella was finally worn out. It helped that Solona used her spell again to make Bella nearly blackout for the last one.

"I'm done." she gasped as her vision came back into focus and was no longer threatening to grey out on her if she moved. It had been a long few minutes, and she could still feel her womb reacting to the waves of painful ecstasy. "Can't do more." She moaned as she crawled out of the bed and onto the full length couch against the wall. She laid down on it as the two wardens once more tore into each other with nails, teeth and it looked like a violent coupling was on the menu next. Rory was more than ready to fuck the poor girl into a coma if she didn't fuck him there first. Bella's last thought was even one warden might be too much for even her.

It was bright outside the window, and they could hear the merchants setting up for regular business now that the morning was well establish, when Rory finally collapsed totally spent, and this time he wouldn't let Solona heal and reinvigorate him. His limbs were so sore he didn't think moving would be possible. Solona was a complete mess. She had semen dripping from her cunt, ass and even some had dried from where it landed earlier in her hair and down her chest. Their hair was soaked with sweat and they were both panting with thirst and their stomachs growled with hunger. Rory was so empty he'd been shooting blanks for at least the last two hours.

They roused Isabella for help. She couldn't help laughing at the two. Solona had to heal them both yet again because in their passion had managed, even with the many oils in the room and her magic, to rub themselves raw and neither couldn't handle any sort of touching below the belt, not even enough to put on smalls to request baths and food. Bella had ordered them double breakfasts and two baths before she returned and gathered her things to leave for her ship. She told Solona to meet her there tomorrow for a double lesson in dueling _only_ about noon. And Rory was not invited, she'd told them with a suggestive wink.

It was very late morning when they were finally ready to leave the room and they weren't so sensitive that she could fully heal them without making them feel like they were going to jump out of their skins at the sensation.

Solona grabbed Rory's hand and stopped him from leaving the room. "The reason I never accepted before... It's not just the mage thing." She said sadly.

Rory looked down at her and nodded solemnly. "I hate what was done to you." He said as he ran his hand over the whip mark. "But I know." He said bitterly, he knew the prophecy was what held her back.

She'd told him about the whip mark on her back while they were in their baths. A new recruit who had wanted information on another mage had done it when Solona wouldn't tell him what he wanted to know. He'd dragged her into a room, smited her, stripped her shirt off and managed to whip her once, right down her spine to maximize her pain before his superior had managed to stop him. The recruit had been transferred out of Ferelden over the incident. While that behavior was accepted in some places of the more barbaric places in Thedas, whipping a child of ten was not acceptable in Ferelden. The Grand Cleric had been called in and a huge deal was made of it by Bryce Cousland and surprisingly King Maric.

Her Uncle Bryce made sure every Templar in the tower, the Grand Cleric and Greagoir himself knew that while her name was Amell she was to be considered a Cousland, and anyone laying a finger on her again, without due cause, would be called on to answer for it. Rory remembered the incident because it was the one time Elissa hadn't been allow to go with her father to the tower and even Rory had wanted to go and kick the little bastard's ass, and that was just over seven years ago now.

"I'm sorry." She whispered as she held him close, she closed her eyes tight, steeling herself for when she had to let go, but savoring these last few moments. "But starting something with you only to end it later, knowing it would happen, that would be too cruel. I care for you too much to do that to you."

"It might be a long while from now." He said hesitantly.

She shook her head resting her cheek near his heart. "No... Elissa is about to throw down Loghain and take over Ferelden. Once she does that it will be my time to do my part, and that's when the Rogue will appear."

Rory sighed regretfully, but deep down he knew she was right. "I care about you too Sole, but I will respect whatever boundaries you have." He finally relented to the truth, she was not his, and never could be.

"Once we walk out those doors we need to be Warden-Commander Solona, and her Senior Warden Rory again." She sighed and buried her face once more into his chest. "Please, I need your guidance." She begged him with a small sob.

He soothed her by rubbing her back. He felt bad but he'd be damned if he was going to regret the night they'd had. "You aren't going to lose that Sole." He smiled fondly as he kissed her hair as an idea occurred to him. "That was some crazy shared Fade dream then wasn't it." He said with an overly-dramatic voice. She caught on immediately.

She looked up at him and smiled small and sad, he stared at her tear-stained cheeks. "Yeah, one hell of a shared dream. It's dangerous to sleep with a mage you know." She joked back weakly.

He forced a laugh and kissed her one last time. "Ok, no more sleeping with mages."

She let him go, gave herself a mental shake, and walked out of the room with her head held high. Rory took one last look around the room. If he ever came back here he was going to have to make sure to make sure he didn't use room five again. He'd have to be insane to think he'd ever have a night like that again, and he was sure he would never want to. He closed the door on the room and the part of his heart that had hoped for Sole to love him the way he wanted her to.

  


Elissa and Alistair had left early to get the armorer that the Cousland's used when they were in need of ceremonial armor. Not that the man wasn't capable of making good armor but his work was overpriced usually for everyday armor, and Elissa preferred to use her own people and line their pockets with her gold then to send to Denerim for a new set.

The clerk was new and seemed a little put out until Wade saw her and rushed forward. "Teyrnessa Cousland!" Wade called out and ran forward. "I have missed you my dearest." He sighed dramatically. "You always have the best work for me."

She laughed and hugged the flamboyant man. "I missed you too Master Wade, and have I got the commission of the century for you!"

"Oh do tell!" He clapped excitedly.

"This is Alistair Theirin, last of the line of Calanhad." She said introducing Alistair. He blushed and gave the man a small smile. "He needs special armor that looks ceremonial but in reality is actually very protective and capable of having runes embedded."

Wade frowned. "I don't have the materials I would need for such a piece of work." He was nearly wailing in despair by the time he got to the end of the sentence.

Elissa chuckled and lifted his chin delicately. "Would I come to you with such a commission if I didn't have the means to see it done?"

He gasped so dramatically Alistair thought the man would die from a stroke. "What do you have for me?"

"Alistair recently killed a High Dragon that tried to kill me." She confided in the man, " And I have all the bone and skin at Arl Eamon's if you want to come and see for yourself what we have for you to work with?"

"Close the shop, I will work on nothing but this!" Wade yelled as he began to march from the shop.

"But Wade what about your other commissions?" The clerk whined in a long suffering voice.

"No one is more important than the Teyrnessa, and the last Theirin!" He called as they were pulled along behind him. "Now let's see this dragon hide, did you get the wings too? No one ever remembers the wings or they shred them while fighting, such a waste."

"The wing membranes are intact. Alistair stabbed it through the heart." Elissa said proudly.

Wade smiled. "Oh nice. So the hide is in long sheets, yes?"

Wade and Elissa prattled on as Wade looked over the bone piles and skins, he took much more than he would need so he could make it a perfect work of art. He also took Cailan's armor and Elissa's design changes that she wanted incorporated and he also took Alistair's measurements including inseam, which made him extremely uncomfortable. Wade also took Elissa's measurements so he could make her a new Cousland breastplate for the Landsmeet. Elissa had also made some type of arrangement with the clerk that made the man much happier.

That done they made their way over to the small house to the side of the square. "Are you sure about this Alistair?" Elissa asked. She was even more unsure now. Alistair was in his Warden Captain's plate mail suit with a red silk cloak covering the heraldry, while Elissa was in her Family Armor and a matching red cloak. Both were carrying expensive weapons and looked like nobles. Going to see the commoner sister he'd never met dressed like this was asking for trouble.

He was too excited by the idea of a family to notice her apprehension. "Yes, I really hope to not be alone once we're done here." He said rather insensitively. It was because of how animated he was that he failed to notice the flash of pain on her face before she quickly hide it.

Elissa stood with him as he walked up to the door and knocked. "The woman who answered the door looked at them a moment and began a spiel about washing clothes and the costs involved. Alistair finally got a chance to ask her if she was Goldanna, previously of Redcliffe.

Elissa noticed the woman look closer at the symbol on his chest and looked at his face. Her eyes narrowed and her face became guarded. Elissa's heart sank. The woman knew who Alistair was, and the visit went downhill from there. The woman tried to extort money from him, when Alistair asked her for it Elissa put her foot down.

"No. If you want to help her once the Blight is over, we will of course help get the children with squire or page positions, but no, she will not get a single silver from us." Elissa said but her eyes never left the woman's.

Goldanna glared at her. "Who are you? Some tart--"

Elissa backhanded her, sending the stunned woman to the ground. "I am the Teyrnessa of Highever. And you will keep a civil tongue in your head when speaking to your betters."

Alistair was stunned. He'd never seen her pull this act on anyone before, except Isolde. "Elissa?"

"Quiet Alistair." She said stern but calmly, her eyes were burning with intense anger but she kept her eyes locked with the pain, tear-filled one of the woman looking up at her. "I believe your sister was about to apologize and explain rationally why you should give a damn about her and her brood of children."

Goldanna's eyes widened as she saw Elissa's eyes. They were promising great amounts of pain in her future if she screwed up and made things worse. She was barely scrapping by now, if a Teyrnessa as powerful as her were too bad mouth her, she'd never make ends meet. She proceeded to do just as Elissa predicted. She spent several minutes explaining how they had been thrown out when her mother died and they had been given some money to get out of the Arldom, but she'd been told Alistair had died. She explained that she worked very hard but was having trouble making ends meet. Elissa sighed and handed her ten silver.

"I'll be in touch about a possible job for you." She said politely. "Once things have settled politically we will look into what can be done for your children."

Goldanna nodded gratefully. She knew power when she saw it and she would not even think about double-crossing a Cousland. "Thank you, Your Grace." Elissa turned to Alistair but he wouldn't look at her.

Once they were outside he glared at Elissa. "Why did you hit her?"

She turned her cold glare at him. "People are out for themselves first. It is a very important lesson. She needed to be reminded that if you choose to have a relationship with her that you are first and foremost who you are; she is _not_ your equal whom she can make demands from."

Alistair gapped at her. "Who are you? How could you do that?" He finally asked as he took a step back. He knew she could be protective of him, but this uncaring, callous noble was more Isolde than his Elissa, and it unnerved him that she was acting this way.

Elissa flinched. "She can't think she is better than you, or she will take advantage of you for the rest of her life." She turned and walked away from him. She hadn't wanted to do this, but she knew he needed to face the woman. Now she was just feeling numb.

Alistair watched her go is disbelief. "She's right you know." Someone said right behind him.

Alistair whirled around catch completely off-guard by her standing behind him. "Leliana you scared me."

Leliana watched Elissa as she entered the gates to Eamon's estate. Alistair turned and watched her go too. "You can't let people walk all over you anymore Alistair. You are better than that, better than them, that's why they try to tear you down. They need to bring you down to their level."

Alistair stared at her in the yes, something he wouldn't have done months ago. "I need to stop doing that to her." He admitted softly. "She just caught me flat-footed seeing her act so... Isoldeish.

"Believing the worst of her?" Leliana asked with disapproval. "Yes, you do. And I seriously doubt Elissa could pull off being as cold-hearted as Isolde." Alistair looked very much like a man who had confessed to murder rather than being a bit stupid. "She needs to stop surprising you and learn to trust you, and let you in." She placed her arm through his and lead him towards the Wonders of Thedas store. "You both need to work on your communication skills, but first, we must help you find a way to apologize for not understanding what she was doing _for_ you."

Alistair raised a brow questioning. "She hit my sister and proceeded to act like a snobby noble. How was she doing anything for me?"

Leliana gave Alistair a sad frown. "Alistair, you don't want to hear it but Goldanna knew you were coming. She'd been told to tell Loghain's men when you visited." She told him, not liking having to be the one to break his heart.

"Are you sure?" He asked in a defeated voice. The news didn't surprise him as much as he'd thought it might, but the thought had crossed his own mind several times, he'd known it was a possibility.

She nodded and placed her hand on his chest. "I know she is family, but she is also a poor woman who was promised fifty sovereigns to turn you in. To her that is more money than she has ever seen in her entire life."

Alistair looked at it from that point of view and remembered her story and understood. She had a choice between a brother she'd never met and seeing to her children. He had no doubts what he'd have done had the situation been reversed, but he'd have at least warned her and felt bad about it. Goldanna hadn't tied to warn them even after learning who Elissa was.

"Elissa will be who she is meant to be." Leliana said carefully and Alistair nodded his understanding to be careful during their talk since they were on a public street. "If you marry Elissa and Goldanna thought she could walk all over you, what do you think she'd ask for next?"

Alistair sighed and looked in the window of the store. "Too much, and my guilt I would have tried to find a way to give it to her. She has suffered in part to hide who I am." He said honestly.

"That was not your doing." She said sternly. He faced her with a frown, but even he knew what she was trying to get at. "Take responsibility for your actions, but do not try to take on everyone else's, they must make their own reparations for their own mistakes."

Behind them they heard a slow clapping. When they turned they were surrounded by four armed thugs. "Very nice speech... Sister Leliana is it?" Alistair instantly sized up the men, between the two of them these men were not too much of a threat. He was wary because they had identified Leliana as a sister, but she was dressed in her Phoenix armor, she looked nothing like a cloistered sister.

"Yes, and you are?" She asked innocently, but Alistair saw her shift her stance so she could reach for her daggers quickly, her bow would be of no use here and it had been left behind at the estate.

"An old friend sends her regards." He said before they attacked. Shoppers scattered as the men lunged forward. Alistair and Leliana made short work of them and a quick check of their pockets gave an address nearby to collect payment once they had killed Leliana.

Leliana quickly pulled Alistair away from the scene. "I guess we will have to grab some flowers instead of jewelry." She said as she walked him up to the local florist quickly before the guards could arrive. They would need to return to the estate to talk to the others about what had just happened, but first he still needed a peace offering for Elissa.

  


Elissa was in her room when he returned with a fifteen very expensive deep red roses. The florist had said fifteen meant I am very sorry and red was for love. He hadn't known there even was a flower language, but nobles played this game all the time it seemed. He felt foolish holding the flowers like a shield to protect him from her wraith so he placed them on the side table by the bed.

She didn't moved from staring into the fire when he walked in. He knew what he wanted to say. He hadn't liked the tone, words or the back-handing she had done, but he understood the reason behind her actions. Elissa for her part was still angry that he'd defended the wrong person yet again, against her. He still saw her as the villain.

"You are never going to trust me are you?" She finally said coldly without looking up from where she stood. "I am always going to be the one who was wrong no matter what, aren't I?"

Alistair walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "No, my problem with today was the way you said it, not what you were doing." He buried his head in her hair and kissed her neck softly. "You were defending me, and I was just... I've never seen you act like that, I never thought you could be that convincing at acting like a ruthless bitch, because you simply aren't anything like any noble I've ever met."

Elissa kept her mouth shut as she processed his back-handed compliment. Once she took what he said she was trying hard not to burst out laughing. He could feel her shaking and was suddenly afraid he'd insulted her further. "Not that I think you're a bitch ever.. err... I mean yes you can be a fierce as a mabari bitch in battle, and well when you are defending someone you care about but that's... I mean.. You give a damn about people, and you care about duty and honor, unlike a real bitch... I'm going to shut up now." He said holding her even tighter so she couldn't turn and hit him.

"Are you done?" She asked him, her voice not giving her amusement away.

"That depends on if you are going to kill me or not." He said quickly. "It's not Tuesday so no ritual dismemberments if I let you go, agreed?"

"No promises Alistair." She said with her body as rigid as possible, otherwise she'd be laughing so hard she'd have fallen. He slowly let her go then jumped back so he was out of reach.

When she turned he could finally see she was trying not to laugh. "Hey I thought you were--" She jumped into his arms and he quickly caught her and kissed her.

When they finally broke apart she laughed. "I have never been called a bitch so eloquently before."

"I thought you were really mad at me." he said as he kissed her neck and let his hands slide down her sides to her hips.

"I am, but not for the bitch comment." She said as she pulled back and the look she gave him made him feel like he was about to be called into the Grand Cleric's office for some grave offence.

"I just didn't expect you to hit her or to be that unkind, and I obviously didn't react well." He said apologetically. "I still don't think you needed to put her in her place the way you did, but I know it needed to be done."

Elissa blinked in surprised but somehow managed to keep her expression from showing both her hurt and relief that he had understood. He still thought she had been wrong, but she was mostly proud of him for standing his ground with her. "So what would you have done?"

He was thoughtful. "Well first off, I wouldn't have hit her." He said, disapproval ringing in his admonishment. "Secondly, I would have used that face and commanding tone you have and made her feel like she was a naughty puppy who just had an accident on the floor." Elissa gave him a disapproving look and was about to ask his what he was talking about when he got excited and pointed at her face. "THAT'S THE ONE!" he shouted. "That look exactly."

"Alistair." She growled, more amused than annoyed but she was trying very hard, to not break down into giggles. If she let him get away with this is would keep coming back to haunt them every time she had to play the part. He needed to understand it was just that, an act she would have to play and so would he someday soon.

"That's almost right, add a little more distain and you'll have it perfect." He said beaming at her. "That would have anybody down on their knees begging forgiveness."

She glared at him. "And yet it has no effect on you it would seem."

He giggled at her! She wanted to slap him silly and he was giggling! "Well that only because I've seen you naked." He said while leering at her playfully. "Are we to the make-up sex part yet? Sometimes I think you start these fights just so we can do the sexy fun times."

Elissa couldn't get the words out she was so flustered, and damn him to the Void she was amused by the whole playful way he was acting. "You need to work on your apologizing skills." She told him firmly.

"And you need to stop being so violent with people just because you don't like them or because they were mean to me." He retorted while still giving her a sexy amused smile. He leaned against the stonework beside the fireplace, which was unfair, he knew she loved the way his hair and eyes glowed when he was near flames of any kind.

"You... Grrr." She snarled and stomped over to him to kiss him passionately. "This isn't over." She told him between kisses.

"But we are going to the bed to have sexy fun times right?" He asked hopefully as he moved to kiss her neck and pick her up at the waist.

Her legs wrapped around him. "Unless you want to go down to the dining hall for dinner?" She replied as she nipped at his throat.

"Nope, we can catch-up later." He said as he carried her over to their bed.

  


Alistair was once more backing away from Elissa. "Just when were you going to tell me that a group of assassins tried to kill you this afternoon?" She advanced on him. He'd waited until they were dressing to go back down to eat to tell her she'd need to be in armor since they needed to go visit someone who had hired a group of thugs to kill Leliana.

"Just now?" He answered uncertainly.

She gapped at him. "Did it occur to you that the person who hired them likely knows their thugs failed and they are long gone?"

Alistair blushed. "Yeah but to be honest I doubt they had enough time to totally relocate yet."

Elissa threw up her hands and stormed out of their room and nearly knocked over Teagan in her hurry to get down the stairs. "Sorry Teagan." She said absently as she started to rush by. His arm snapped out and grabbed her.

"You missed them." He said a little nervously. "Sol... The Commander and the other wardens went to deal with the issue about an hour ago."

Elissa pinched the bridge of her nose and took several deep breaths. As Alistair shifted uncomfortably beside her. "Alistair, you better pray to the Maker they come back without a scratch or I am going to seriously think about castrating you."

Teagan choked back a laugh while Alistair paled slightly at her threat. "You wouldn't, you like--"

"Finished that sentence and I will do worse." Elissa snapped at him, flushing with embarrassment.

Alistair sighed. "There is no winning with you today."

Teagan clapped him on the shoulder. "That isn't going to be just today if you marry her Alistair, that's going to be everyday of your life." He said while chuckling.

Alistair was saved from anymore embarrassment by the sounds of the rest of the party coming back through the doors. Elissa swept down the steps and quickly looked them over. They all looked fine, except Leliana she looked like she had gone through something emotional traumatic and when she swept by without a word but tears streaming down her face Elissa stepped aside with a sympathetic look that the bard acknowledged but she kept walking. The others left Solona and Rory to report to Elissa about their activities that evening and left to engage in their own pursuits.

"What happened?" Elissa asked when the four were seated in the dining room eating from the food left on the platters from the buffet dinner that they had missed.

Solona bit her lip and her eyes flashed towards Rory before she answered. "Leliana's ex-lover and mentor while she was a bard thought Leliana was out to kill her since she left the Chantry in Lothering, so she decided to kill her first."

Rory was acting strangely too. The two were avoiding looking at one another, and Rory was fidgeting, he never did that unless; he'd done something he shouldn't have, something he regretted, or Elissa would disapprove of. Elissa was at her limit for childish behavior for the day and wasn't sure she wanted to deal with whatever it was Rory had messed up with Solona over. "That makes no sense." She said turning her attention back to the conversation. "What was she suppose to wait for the Darkspawn to kill her?"

Solona shrugged. "She was so narcissistic and paranoid that it didn't matter that the Darkspawn had wiped out Lothering."

"She's not taking it well." Alistair said seriously. "Is she going to be ok?"

Solona nodded slowly. "I think she will be fine. She's much tougher than she's let on."

"She's been hiding one hell of a story about her past that's for sure." Rory said agreeing. "She used to spy for Orlais." He told Elissa. "That could be a major problem for us. You especially if we bring her to the Landsmeet and someone knows who she is."

"Please tell me she spied in Antivan or anywhere but Ferelden." Elissa pleaded.

Rory sighed and shook his head. "She got caught here in Denerim. She escaped and entered the Chantry here but transferred to Lothering three years before Ostagar."

"What are the chances someone will know her on sight?" Alistair asked.

Rory shrugged. "Depends on who did the catching and the interrogations. She thinks it was the old Arl of Denerim, and he's dead."

Elissa shook her head feeling a headache beginning to form. She began to rub her temples. "Give her a day or two then ask her everything she knows about that."

Their conversation was cut-off by some loud yelling in the hall. The four grabbed their weapons and came out of the dining room into the front hall to see Howe, Loghain and Loghain's Captain standing in the reception hall faced off with Eamon.

The four quickly moved to flank Eamon so they were facing off with the men who had made their lives the mess it was. In one way or another each had lost all the family they had to these men and the hatred pouring from them was a living entity in the room. The air seemed thinner, and made breathing harder. Elissa could feel the rage she'd felt as she held Oren's cooling body flash through her, making her grasp the sword in her hand tighter. She kept her mouth shut however and let Eamon do most of the talking.

"I will not cancel the Landsmeet. Ferelden is up against a Blight and you refuse to see it. Instead you incite a Civil War in a desperate grasp for power while Ferelden burns around you!" Eamon said passionately. Elissa would give him points for being a gifted speaker, it was too bad she couldn't trust him any further than she could Loghain.

"It's not a true Blight." Loghain said dismissively. "It's just an excuse for the Orlisian in gain a foothold in Ferelden." He said with a wave of his hand towards Solona.

Solona shook her head. "So that's why you outlawed Ferelden Wardens?" He snapped his head towards her. Loghain had obviously not thought her to be Ferelden. Her accent was distinctly that of someone who had lived here since childhood, which she had.

"They were not all Ferelden!" He insisted.

"Neither is the King's army." Alistair retorted. "There are other nationalities in the army as well."

"Not anymore." Loghain said with a flash of annoyance. "What would a bastard know of such things?"

That comment made it clear he knew exactly who Alistair was. Elissa bristled and her headache made her more fierce. "What would a commoner know of being a regent?" Loghain glared at her. But it was then that Howe decided to join the conversation.

"Bryce's little spitfire, and the thief." He snarled at her. "Where is my money?"

Elissa smiled evilly at him. "Highever will never be yours, only the Landsmeet can grant a Teyrn the right to rule Highever and only if every Cousland is dead."

"Everyone of you was to die that night!" He snapped. "For High Treason."

Elissa snorted. "Too bad Cailan didn't agree with you. He acknowledge me as Teyrnessa of Highever."

Unlike Howe who seemed intent on trying to gloat Elissa into attacking him, Loghain was being cautious. He'd obviously not known Alistair, Rory, Solona and Elissa were all in residence with Eamon, and by now the rest of the party was also behind them. This had been an intimidation visit, and their presence had turned the tables dramatically.

There had been no reason to hide the wardens any longer with the Landsmeet called, so Solona had made them pull out the Warden Armor, so the group surrounding them, except Shale, were all dressed as Wardens behind their Commander. Elissa in her Cousland Armor was unexpected, it was also making Howe foam at the mouth because it was proof she'd taken the treasury with her when she'd left. The Silverite Cousland Family Armors and Shields were usually kept there, rather than her daily leathers. Solona standing next to Eamon in her Warden-Commander Plate Mail and her daggers at the ready was an unknown to them.

"So you hide behind the Wardens and the Bastard Prince." Loghain said sounding a little sad and tired. "The Landsmeet will never put him on the throne over Anora. He is a bastard and a Grey Warden. He can't rule." He said reasonably to Eamon. "You will lose and you will be tried for treason against your Queen."

"He is engaged to the Teyrnessa." Eamon said calmly. "Given a choice between Elissa as Queen with Alistair or Anora with you as her regent, I think the Landsmeet might find that a better alternative."

At these words Loghain seemed to begin to lose his temper but Howe looked frightened suddenly. "He is still a Grey Warden, they have to give up all birthrights."

"He can be released from such an obligation at the discretion of the Warden-Commander." Eamon said waving towards Solona. She managed to hold her expression due to her feelings towards the men in front of her, otherwise the statement might have made her give the game away by accident.

"We shall see." Loghain said before he turned and swept out of the hall with Howe and Loghain's captain hot on his heels.

Solona waited until they were gone before she turned to Elissa. "I can do that?" She asked with a confused look. "I thought joining was for life."

Elissa gave her a look that told her to go along with her. "Anything to defeat a Blight means anything. Putting a King on the throne that would support fighting a Blight would be within those parameters."

Solona nodded slowly. "I'll release him in front of the Landsmeet then, for full effect." She added with an innocent smile towards Eamon. The old man lapped it up.

"That would be very effective." Eamon said thankfully before he turned in for the night.

"I don't know about the rest of you, but I have had enough excitement for one day." Solona said looking much more exhausted than Elissa expected. "I'm going to bed. I have a training appointment tomorrow afternoon." She said, once more her eyes darted to Rory before she turned and nearly fled the room. Rory was staring at his feet. Elissa put the pieces together and slammed her fist against his arm.

"What was that for?" Rory snapped at her. He too looked more worn than Elissa had expected but now that she knew why she was mad at him.

"You hurt her!" She snapped her eyes flashing.

He glared back at her. "Stay the fuck out of it Elissa." He growled at her harshly.

She snorted and got in too close, she was almost nose to nose with him. "Why should I?"

"Because it wasn't her that was hurt." He snapped and pushed her back firmly before he crossed his arms and stared her down.

Elissa stumbled a step back. "She wasn't?" Now she was confused, she'd seen that look of longing on her face when she left the tower the first time looking back at Cullen.

"No." He said with a finality that made her look closer at him. In his eyes she could see how much he was hurting and she felt heartbroken for him. He'd lost so much recently, as much as her. Even if he hadn't seen his father or brothers since he was ten didn't mean he didn't love them. Now it seemed he had fallen for Solona and she had pushed him away.

Her hand flew to her mouth. "Oh Rory, I'm sorry." He now looked a little more defeated.

"It doesn't matter, she's destined for someone else right?" He asked rhetorically. "It's not like she hasn't been upfront about it." He tried to look unconcerned but she knew him too well and she wanted to do something for him, but it wasn't what he would want right now. She'd have to wait for him to want her comfort.

"Still I'm sorry I jumped to conclusions." She said miserably. "If it wasn't for that damn prophecy, I would have been very happy for you both."

Rory glared at the floor and scoffed with disgust. "Look, I'm tired too, I'm just going to turn in." Elissa watched him go before she headed back to her room, her own emotions now a whirling storm of doubt and a little fear and a touch of resentment on Rory's behalf towards their path. The prophecy had been like a blanket of security to her, bolstering her confidence along the way. But now her best friend was being torn apart by that very same series of words that could be the salvation or destruction of Thedas. Duty required her to fulfill the prediction, but her heart wanted to throw the "Rogue" aside and let Rory take his place.

When she entered she saw Alistair waiting for her by the bed with the roses from earlier in a vase on her bedside and she remembered that without the prophecy she would not have him and she was torn once more because without Alistair she was sure she would never have made it this far. Having him in her life, while it would be difficult at times, he was the best thing in her life. Too many nights when she would start to feel the slightest bit of fear, he'd tell a lame joke, or talk to her about something that ended with her laughing and smiling. His companionship was all she needed to take her fear and doubts, and crush them to dust.

She smiled looking at him with gratitude and she moved to him, helping to remove his armor. He wordlessly helped her and lead her to their bed. Somehow he always knew what she needed, and tonight was no different, he made no move to be more intimate than just holding her and running his hand soothingly down her band and sides. Lying down together she pulled him into her arms.

"I love you Alistair. No matter what I said or do, please never doubt that." She suddenly blurted out and she clung to him.

Alistair cocked one of his brows at her but held her a little tighter. "You've been very clear about that Elissa." He said as he nuzzled her affectionately and kissed the side of her forehead. "What brought this on?"

"I was talking to Rory and... I need you to know was already beginning to love you even before I knew the prophecy meant you." She said quickly, she felt the need to reassure both him and herself that their relationship was of their own making. "You have to know that."

He smiled fondly at her. "I know, we'd talked about this before." He looked down at her with concern. "Where is this coming from? Did Rory say something that worried you?" He was confused, Rory had been very supportive throughout their time together.

"Rory and Solona..." She said quietly. "They..."

"Ah." Alistair replied softly as understanding dawned on him. "I knew he was falling for her a little bit, but I thought he had moved on to Leliana and they were getting close."

Elissa rolled her eyes at him, sometimes he did miss the obvious. "She prefers women."

Alistair's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "I... Oh, I didn't know that."

Elissa snorted thinking of all the times she had flirted with Solona and Elissa herself right in front of him. "You really missed it?"

"I only ever noticed her flirting with Rory." He said with a shrug. "And Zevran before Morrigan claimed him." He shivered at that pairing, he could not understand what the elf saw in her. "Is it something we need to be concerned about?"

Elissa didn't know and her uncertainty showed on her face. "This has been a bad day all around hasn't it? Maybe that confrontation with Howe has colored my perspective."

"Yes, it seems all purple and grey, that is not a good color for you." He said playfully, making her giggle. "Hopefully tomorrow will be better." Alistair said, kissing her again affectionately. "Let's get some sleep, my love." He said as he rubbed her back, helping her to relax.

Elissa cuddled in closer to him. "Thank you."

"And Elissa. I do love you. I would have loved you anyway, with or without the prophecy." He said tenderly. She felted cherished and loved lying in his arms, she just wished her cousin and best friend could feel the same way, and she wished she could banish the Rogue to the Void, just so Rory and Solona could be happy now.

  


The next day Elissa, Alistair and Rory met with members of the Highever alliance privately. All of the Lords, including Rory's seneschal, stopped by to express their support for Elissa. She gave each Lord her thanks and gave each the news of her engagement to Alistair Theirin, son of King Maric, and introduced them to him.

All three of the companions had to bit their tongues on countless times as they heard comments that basically congratulated Elissa on such a politically savvy merger rather than on the actual engagement itself, as if Alistair's only worth was his bloodline, like a prized stud stallion. Only a few actually noticed their actual affection for one another, including the Arl of Highever, the most important of their allies. When he said 'your father would have approved', Elissa shared a secret smile with Alistair and said "He did and gave us his blessing.", thinking of the Temple and what the spirit of her father had said to them. When the news Bryce had approved the engagement hit the gossip circles, it set every tongue in Denerim to wagging, and by that very evening most everyone believed that the engagement was a love match made before Ostagar, contrary to any other rumors and whole truths.

In the two days since everything had seemingly gone wrong, things had begun to turn around in dramatic fashion for them. Mysterious things kept happening to the allies of Loghain. Embarrassing and troublesome, but not life-threatening things, which Leliana and Zevran seemed positively smug about. Morrigan also seemed quite happy to have been doing something on the side, though Solona was concerned she hadn't mentioned the grimoire as of yet, she was happy to see Morrigan looking a little more content as she spent more time with Zevran.

Eamon had been unbearable as news of the engagement and Bryce's approval made the rounds. He seemed to take the Highever Alliance pledging themselves to Elissa as a personal affront. Teagan had confided to them that Eamon had been hoping to have the whole thing with Connor swept under the rug when Alistair became King, but with Elissa having so much support he knew it was not likely to happen, and it was making him cranky. Isolde was still confined to her quarters within the estate, but she could be heard screeching at the staff occasionally, which could not be helping Eamon's mood much.

Teagan and Rory were avoiding spending any time in a room with Solona if it wasn't necessary and Solona herself was spending hours with the Pirate Queen Isabella learning how to use her daggers each afternoon. In Teagan's case it was a good thing. The rumors of his involvement with the Warden-Commander of Ferelden were being considered a tall tale of the servants making, rather than a real scandal, and as long as he didn't spend time with her in public, it would likely stay that way. Rory avoiding her was a bit of an issue, but he was good at making excuses and when it mattered he was there and contributed as needed without reserve.

Elissa had finally gotten the whole story from Solona about what happened at the Pearl between her, Rory and Isabella. She'd shown Elissa some of the things she was learning about dueling from the woman and even Elissa had to admit the Pirate Queen was a master of her craft, but even better for Solona's sake, she knew how to teach it incredibly well.

If Rory was nursing an actual broken heart he didn't say so to Elissa, but the looks he threw Solona were more of longing, than pain, so she was willing to let Rory deal with it in his own way. Solona actually felt guilty for caring about him so much when she knew he wasn't the one from the prophecy. She had said she wasn't in love with him, but she wanted to be, but at the same time it was against the rules. Elissa had been disappointed for them. She understood that while Solona had come a long way, she had lived her whole life with those stupid Circle rules. Breaking even one of them was a huge step. She wasn't ready to fall in love yet, and at eighteen it wasn't like she had to make a match immediately.

Things were going so well for them in fact that when Anora's elf-maid Erlina showed up at the estate on the fourth day no one had been surprised that she brought bad news. Howe had Anora locked up in his estate and was planning to make it look like Eamon or Alistair had killed her to gain the throne.

"So Howe is planning to kill her and frame us?" Elissa snorted with distain. "He wouldn't dare, without Anora Loghain can't claim regency."

"How is he claiming to be regent now? Anora is of age." Alistair asked somewhat curious.

"He is claiming the queen is in mourning and he was needed to do so in the crisis." Eamon explained before turning to Alistair. "I think Elissa and Solona should rescue her personally, to gain good faith with her."

Elissa bit her tongue and calmly waited for Alistair's decision, he looked to her but she just waved him on. They had spoken of this, he'd need to lead when they met with Eamon. She half-expected Alistair to agree. His answer made he want to start cheering instead.

"I think we should call their bluff." He said as he looked towards Elissa for her advice once more, but she gave only a small nod in return.

Eamon's eyes widened giving away his surprise at the suggestion. "We can't risk them framing you for her death Alistair, your claim is not the best already with your Grey Warden oaths in the way. If they frame you or Elissa or even myself that will be the end of your chances to be King!" Elissa didn't miss the way Erlina's eyes shifted to her when Eamon spoke. Elissa was careful to keep a concerned expression on her face and keep watching Alistair as he spoke to Eamon.

"We also can't risk it being a trap." Elissa said quietly, steering Alistair gently towards the way they needed to take the conversation.

Alistair understood and smiled down at her. "I quite agree, besides a wise woman once told me, nobles don't run errands and play messenger for others, they send their most loyal retainers." He said with a smile at Solona. "What kind of King would I be if I went on this 'errand' myself, or sent my future bride?"

Solona remembered saying something when she talked him into taking Elissa on a date in Orzammar when she went after the Cartel. It was basically that they needed; plausible deniability. In this case more than just Elissa would need it this time. All the major players for the Landsmeet couldn't be there, but at the same time one of the core four had to be there, otherwise the political plans might be jeopardized.

Alistair had actually meant that there was no one he trusted more than Solona to call in a favor from. Possible scandals aside, he trusted her to get the job done when it came down to the fighting and getting a job done. This job would require a more restrained hand than Elissa would be capable of if Howe was in the residence during the time of the rescue.

Eamon seemed greatly annoyed by the bi-play. Erlina was watching the interactions too closely for Elissa to act as she wanted, so she played the part of a dutiful but supportive partner to Alistair. "Ali, we can't ask our friends to risk themselves either, it could be traced back to us!" She admonished him, pretending to be scandalized. "We should think about hiring mercenaries to save the queen." She placed a supportive hand on his arm and looked up at him adoringly. "It will take _days_ to organize." She gave him a sly wink.

Rory nodded his agreement with that plan, knowing they were trying to stress the Arl and Erlina into tipping their hands. "Yes, it will. We can't hire just anyone. It would have to be the right people. Not the Crows, but one of their allies perhaps."

Eamon seemed ready to have a fit and the elf-maid was showing restrained signs of true concern. Elissa took note of how both seemed to be trying to get the group to agree to go. Something more was going on here. Eamon wanted Elissa to go, which was a reason for her not to be there, above and beyond the whole, it could be a trap thing. As much as she wanted to be there to kill the bastard Howe, she knew she couldn't be involved with storming his estate.

"But my queen will not have days!" Erlina wailed, her hands trembling and she glanced helplessly at Eamon, which make Elissa even more suspicious. "Howe will kill her soon!"

Solona was watching Elissa for some type of sign she should step in. When Elissa gave her a hand sign from behind her back she knew to volunteer, but Zevran beat her too it. "Perhaps as few of us could be of service, those of us more prone to stealthy pursuits." He purred towards the Arl and elf-maid.

"Who did you have in mind Zev?" Solona asked. She didn't know if Elissa wanted to go, but she knew Zevran would be better suited to lead a stealthy team. Howe was at the center of too many conspiracies and she really wanted to set Zev loose in the house to see what he could come up with to help at the Landsmeet, and if Howe ended up dead, all the better.

"The lovely Leliana, and sensual Morrigan," He said with a slight bow towards both deadly women. Alistair winced as Elissa dug her nails into Alistair's arm to stop him from making one of his comments about Morrigan right then. He knew better but she wanted to be sure. "And if he will be willing Ser Gilmore, for brute force if it is required," Rory nodded his agreement, "and finally the ever gracious Wynne, for her ever needed healing abilities. She is also so quiet that a Chantry mouse would be thunderous next to her silent steps." She also gave him her agreement to go along.

"If you're sure." Alistair said softly. His disappointment at not going obvious. In fact he was actually worried as only Rory from the core group members was actually going to be there.

Eamon tried once more to get Elissa and Solona to agree to go, but in the end it was agreed it was best for them to be seen out and about with the more memorable members of the group so they would have an alibi if they needed one.

Erlina had arranged for them to sneak in as guards. Unknown to Eamon and or the Elf the other members of the group would be nearby but were being careful to be seen shopping and talking to other nobles. They wanted to be close enough that when would see if the guard was called so they could rescue the party.

Leliana made contact with the man Slim and asked him for any information he had, and did he deliver! He knew that Anora had gone to the Estate in a fit when she heard about Elissa being alive and engaged to Alistair before Ostagar. She'd been heard ranting about Cailan and Maric being too dependent on the Couslands. It was also known to Slim that when she confronted Howe about if it was true, that Elissa had been engaged before Ostagar. Howe had confirmed it, saying that Bryce had said straight out that Elissa had chosen her own husband and Duncan had been there that evening. When Anora asked how she was suppose to keep her throne with a Cousland still alive and engaged to the last Theirin, Howe had imprisoned her. His plans did include killing her if he could frame Elissa for it. He had people watching to see when it would be a good time to do it. They were only waiting for Elissa to be mostly alone and not surrounded by large groups of people. It was Howe's plan to push Loghain over the edge so he as the most powerful noble left could be King.

Needless to say the whole party had been appalled and flabbergasted by the level of depravity and madness the man was capable of. The only one not surprised was Elissa. Even Rory had only seen the bodies of soldiers and servants cut down. He hadn't seen the condition of her sister-in-law and nephew.

Leliana had been inside the Arl's estate before and knew a secondary entrance and went in that way with Zevran. The other three would be dressed as guards. The smaller number walking in together would attract less attention than five. Erlina had distracted the guards at the backdoor with the dumbest of excuses. As if Darkspawn could have gotten this far into the city without being noticed.

Rory was beginning to really worry about their chances of getting out without being arrested when they found Anora's door with a blood magic barrier in place. Morrigan assured him that the only way that was going to come down was either with the caster's consent or his death. Having Anora through the door tell him where said mage was likely to be was setting off every alarm Rory had, but he had no choice but to go through with the ridiculous ruse. He hadn't been thrilled with the idea of doing this in the first place and was even less happy as they got further along in the plan.

They actually weren't doing too badly. They hadn't needed to kill anybody and had bluffed their way to Howe's quarters. Across from them was the treasury, Rory was thinking how fitting it would be to rob it when Leliana and Zevran walked out with a bulging magical backpack. Rory had chuckled at the fittingly ironic state of affairs happening right at that moment. Of course Howe's children would survive, unlike the Couslands, but storming the estate in secret and then slaughtering the Arl was the most fitting revenge ever. Rory could live with that. Howe’s children were innocent in all this, or at least the daughter and Nate were at least, he'd put nothing past the youngest Howe.

Inside Howe's personal quarters Leliana and Zevran really showed their skills. At Rory's request they had searched the rooms more thoroughly than any other. In only fifteen minutes they had found an extremely well hidden floor safe with all the incriminating documents they could ever need.

There was evidence of Howe and Loghain's agreement to make Howe Teyrn of Highever if he could clear the way. They also found Grey Warden letters intended for the compound in Denerim and Duncan, letting him know when to expect troops to arrive. According to the letters, there should be a large armies of Wardens amassed near Jader, Cumberland, Val Chavin, and Kirkwall. Two of which were Orlisian, one from Nevarra and one from the Free Marches, with more expected in Cumberland within a month from the Anderfels and the leadership with them. Had Loghain not closed the borders to the Wardens they would already have received the back-up the country badly needed. Loghain's paranoia was going to doom Ferelden.

Even better for Elissa, they found letters from the messengers sent to find an apostate to teach Conner that told Howe about Jowan and where to find the Templars who had him. They also found the letter from the Crows that stated that they would not take a contract on the Teyrnessa of Highever nor her Grey Warden companions during a Blight.

There was a hidden stairway that obviously lead to the dungeons. They went down the stairs and there ran into their first bit of trouble. Guards for this area needed to be cleared and they knew immediately the party was not authorized. There was only one guard there but before he could yell out for help the prisoner he was guarding broke his neck and reached for the keys. Zevran was faster and pulled them away before the prisoner could reach them.

The man in the cell was actually a Warden scout for the Orlisian command that was captured by Loghain's forces just after Ostagar. He'd been sent to find and take command of the Ferelden forces that were left if any after Elissa's guards had arrived to warn them of the actions of Loghain. He'd gotten into Ferelden just before the borders were closed in part because he was a native Ferelden, he'd been allowed to slip in. He was a son of Highever in fact and a friend of Duncan's from boyhood. Rory took great pride in telling him he wasn't needed to lead them as they had a new Commander, and she was a cousin to the Teyrnessa of Highever. Riordan didn't take offence at Rory's combative attitude about taking command, he knew how Ferelden's felt about Orlais, and he was one of their men despite his place of birth. He joined them in exploring the dungeons.

The dungeons were extensive and the instruments of torture made him happy Solona wasn't there, especially when they passed a wall with a display of whips that still had blood on some of them. She had said the sight of whips didn't bother her but it would have disturbed him.

In one of the rooms they had to dispatch a team of torturers so they could free a young noble named Oswyn Sighard. He'd been with King Cailan on the field and been ordered to direct Loghain's forces to Cailan position once the beacon was lit. Instead he'd been taken prisoner and dragged away with Loghain's forces when he retreated instead, and brought to the dungeons. It was only in the last few days that they bothered to trying to torture him into agreeing to support Loghain at the Landsmeet in return for his freedom. When he refused Howe decided to torture him for refusing. Wynne tried to heal his injuries. The rack damage was mostly fixable, but some of his injuries were from Ostagar. They were too old to be healed by magic. The man agreed to hide from the guards in one of the store rooms with a locked door until they could return. They found one with a key and let him lock himself in.

Further on they found a small hallway with several cells. Inside they found a Templar by the name of Irminric Eremon. He was deep into lyrium withdrawals. Wynne helped him with a few small sips until he relaxed out of his delirium, he was able to tell them that he was one of the Templars that caught Jowan, but when he protested letting him go and he'd been captured. Wynne had made him comfortable and he fell back asleep, his delirium was so deep that he would likely not survive. Mage Lyrium was different from the Lyrium the Templars took. He’d need to get back on the right type soon if he had any hope at all.

Not long after they found the Blood Mage holding Anora’s barrier and Howe along with his two bodyguards.

Upon seeing Rory leading the party into the room Howe sneered with the most twisted evil expression. "Well if it isn't the spitfire's lover. I told Nathaniel he was a fool for thinking she was ever interested in anyone but you. Do you share her with the Bastard Prince or is that just for show?"

Rory laughed manically. "The joke is on you Howe, Elissa was interested in Nate, she and I have only ever been friends." Howe snarled at the correction. "If you'd not sent him away Highever would have been Nate's eventually, but you were too much of a greedy bastard to wait."

"Bryce was against any union." He snapped. "He wouldn't sign any betrothal papers without the bitch."

"Some parents actually care about their children's happiness." Rory snapped back. "Not that you'd know anything about that."

"You aren't worth my time." He waved his away as if he were a gnat. "The Couslands are all dead. I had Bryce and his wife on their knees begging for their lives before I killed them personally. Fergus is dead at Ostagar, and his brat and whore of a wife are burned in the scrap heap behind the Castle at Highever... And your family, they too are just rotting corpses left out to feed the darkspawn." Zevran and Leliana both were right at his side, she was holding his shield arm in place, so he couldn't blindly charge forward. Howe plowed on with his rant, not even noticing the rising alertness in everyone around him. "Even the Wardens are gone except for your little band which will soon be taken care of. You've lost everything!" Howe said smirking with superiority. The mage in the background was gearing up to cast, as was Morrigan and Wynne. Wynne was preparing a lifeward for Rory while Morrigan was readying a crushing prison for the Mage.

"The Wardens have amassed at the borders under the direction of Elissa and Solona. You're the one who has lost. And that's not even taking into account the alliances they built that is waiting in Kinloch Hold." Rory retorted with a smoldering hatred about to burst into a furious assault.

He glared at Rory. "You spent too much time with the Couslands. You act just like them, holding back everyone they deemed unworthy. Do you really think Elissa considers you her equal? She never considered you for marriage did she?" He sneered. "Just like my boy, not good enough for a Cousland."

"I never considered her either." He snapped back.

Howe seemed extremely dissatisfied with his answer and yelled, "Prepare to die!"

Thankfully that was all the notice they needed to cast the spells they had prepared while Rory charged Howe. The rest of the party took out the mage and Howe's two bodyguards who had been hiding in the shadows.

The duel with Howe was personal. Howe tried to taunt Rory into losing it, but Rory refused to rise to the bait. Instead he focused on pushing Howe further back towards the desk behind him. Howe hadn't fought for himself in quite some time and he was rusty. Rory easily maneuvered him into the position he wanted and he attacked with the sword in a lunge that went through the weakness in Howe's simple breastplate, going through his shoulder pinning him to the desk's rough wood top.

Rory snarled looking down on him and spat in his pain twisted face. "You don't deserve a quick death." He held Howe's good hand down and then took his one of Howe's daggers and pinned his hand to the desk with it. As Howe screamed and tried to lift his dead arm to the now impaled wrist. Rory took out his own dagger. "I'm going to enjoy this." He hiss with evil glee. He slowly pushed the blade into Howe stomach.

Howe's eyes bulged out as the sickening pain made him gag on his own vomit. He managed to turn his head enough to spit it out as to not choke on it. "It can't end like this. I deserved more." He gasped disbelieving at his hand.

Rory slapped the dagger's hilt, making it vibrate and causing waves of agonizing pain to flare through Howe's body. "And I am going to give you more pain then you could ever have imagined for all the evil you've done to good people... all because you were a selfish bastard who didn't deserve what he had." Rory sneered with hatred. His own features marred by his hate and rage. Howe looked terrified.

Leliana gasped and cried out. "Rory just kill him. Give him a quick death, be merciful."

"No!" Rory screamed with his wrath now turned towards Leliana. "He deserves to suffer for what he did to Elissa, Owen, and Fergus and Bryce, Eleanor! Nan! My family!" His eyes flashed back to Howe's wide pain glazed horrified face. "For everyone else he has ever hurt or killed."

Zevran stopped Leliana from making anymore comments by pushing her towards the door. "He needs to do this." He whispered to her."I know you don't approve, but sometimes one needs to let their darker side out. And this is his time." He told her sadly. Leliana began to cry softly and Wynne came and directed her out. She and Faith both disapproved of Rory's actions for his own sake, but neither were willing to intervene on Howe's behalf. He'd earned this death. Morrigan had stood back and watched with respect, she had seriously underestimated the quiet warrior. His creativity on the fly was very good for an amateur. Riordan watched with a detacted sense of calm. He’d heard the rumors of Howe’s actions and seen more with in the dungon. H ehad no doubt Howe had earned his death.

Howe was begging for his life. "Please I'll give you anything."

Rory laughed, but the sound was harsh and empty. "You have nothing to offer me Howe. I am now a Bann, a title I never wanted thanks to you. And why am I am Bann, because a man I haven't seen in more than ten years told the truth and it was inconvenient for you." He twisted the dagger in his guts making Howe scream in agony.

"I loved that little boy as if he was my own nephew." Rory snapped at him twisting the blade sharply. "Did you know that?" He turned the dagger again and Howe shrieked once more. "My men were dead all around me and I had to lay there with them piled on top of me so I could escape, to get to Elissa and protect her from you!" He howled in rage.

Then suddenly Rory laughed again with that same echoingly empty sound from before. "I thanked the Maker every minute of every day that she got out and took the treasury with her."

Howe was bleeding out all over the desk and was losing his battle to live. "I hope you rot in the Void you Son of a Bitch!" Rory snarled as he slashed Howe with the dagger, splitting his body from his navel to his throat, finally ending his life in a small fountain of blood. Perversely he plunged his hands inside Howe's dead twitching body and ripped out his heart and stared at it before he dropped it on the ground.

The party watched with fascination and a great deal of horror as Rory turned and looked at them. His eyes gleamed with unholy glee and he yanked his sword from Howe's body, the pull caused Howe's body to fall to the ground and his internal organs to slip onto the floor over Rory's boots. He turned and began to walk towards the doors that lead back to the queen's chambers, leaving bloody footprints prints behind him.

The group was quick to follow and Wynne and Leliana stopped to help Bann Sighard's son and the imprisoned Templar hobble along as far as Howe's room. There they left them so they could be ready in case they needed to fight the guards on this floor.

It was a bloodbath, for anyone who worked for Howe and didn't drop their weapons. Wynne was extra busy, Rory was fighting with abandon and ignoring his injuries. His focus was single-minded and he wasn't as aware of his surroundings as he should have been, he was lucky as well that he looked so intimidating with the amount of gore on his face and armor. It was making a great deal of the newer recruits to run away, and several of the smarter veterans chose to surrender.

When they got to Anora's door the barrier was gone, and the queen was there dressed as a guard. She looked aghast when she saw Rory and she was even more horror-stuck when he stone-faced reached out and roughly grabbed her wrist and started to drag her from the room and out into the hall without a word.

Rory was expecting it and so he wasn't surprised to find the way bared by Ser Cauthrien and some of Loghain's elite guards. They were outnumbered and the ungrateful queen yelled they'd tried to kidnap her.

"Surrender and you may be shown mercy." Ser Cauthrien had called to them once Anora had run by her, escaping out the door.

Rory bellowed out, "Death first!" and charged straight at her. While the guards were elite veterans the veracity of his attack had most taking a step back before committing to battle, which initially saved his life in that moment.

Once more Wynne's barrier spell was the only reason there were no fatal casualties on their side. Elissa and the rest of the party who had waited outside had followed Ser Cauthrien in and waited until Anora ran past to attack their rear flanks.

Once they were sure the guards were all dead including Loghain's top knight they returned to Eamon's estate. Rory told Elissa what he'd done on the way back. To say Elissa was once more in a rage when they returned would have been an understatement. She was also horrified by what Rory had done, that level of rage. She couldn't imagine him doing such a thing, but she was sure if given the same chance she'd have done that and more.

She wasn't alone in feeling angry. The whole group was feeling betrayed by not only the queen, but also Eamon. Elissa was more certain the trap was meant to capture her, and she knew she wouldn't have walked out of the estate alive.

Anora had covered her surprise well and acted apologetic when they had walked in. The conversations following the rescue had been enlightening as well. Anora was desperate to remain queen. Eamon was desperate to have some control over Alistair. Elissa was more certain than ever she was going to have to do something about them both, after the Landsmeet.

  


Rory had needed Elissa after what he'd done. The two were up in her room together when Eamon took advantage to get Alistair alone. Teagan was present to help make Alistair more agreeable, at least that's what Eamon thought. The talk had started innocently enough. What Alistair thought about the way to present all the information they had found at the Arl of Denerim Estate against Loghain. He'd waited until Alistair seemed relaxed and was enjoying a glass of wine with a plate of his favorite cheeses.

"Alistair, Ferelden needs this civil war to end in a way that no one can dispute the outcome." Eamon stared out.

Teagan cleared his throat. "Eamon this isn't--" He tried to head Eamon off. If there was one thing he had seen while they had been at Redcliffe it was not only was Alistair so in love with Elissa that he would never consider anyone else, it was that Elissa (and Solona for that matter) would literally hunt down and get revenge on anyone who tried to abuse or use Alistair. What Eamon was about to suggest was going to set both of them against their family more than they already were. He understood enough that when push came to shove, while Alistair was not technically family by blood, he should have been by law. Eamon had been a fool not to foster the boy or ask Teagan himself to do it.

"There is a way to end it without either side having to capitulate." Eamon said calmly as if Teagan hadn't tried to interrupt. Alistair was on guard though, Teagan hadn't looked happy about the meeting so Alistair had decided to play stupid and let Eamon put all his cards on the table before he said anything. He might not know much about playing The Game, but Eamon thought his was playing a witless child. Alistair was going to prove him wrong.

Teagan held his hands up behind Eamon's back and rolled his eyes. Alistair would have found the situation funny except for the fact Elissa had told him to expect Eamon to try something if she was busy and couldn't come with him for one of these talks. Teagan's actions made it clear this was one of those talks she'd warned him of, and now Eamon was about to make the biggest mistake of his life.

"Loghain has decided to surrender for execution then? Excellent. Well that makes this much easier." He sassed him sarcastically. Teagan was struggling not to laugh.

Eamon looked frustrated and gave Alistair a dirty look. "As much as I agree he should be tried he hasn't officially done anything wrong."

Alistair raised a brow. "I believe leaving the field of battle when your king is waiting for you to save his arse is treason." Eamon sighed and started to shake his head. "If it's not yet, it's going to be." Alistair continued.

"I am talking about you marrying Anora instead of Elissa." Eamon said evenly, trying to hide his irritation. Alistair started to laughed. He actually bent over at the waist in his chair and laughed so hard he's vision went red. Teagan couldn't help but join him with a small chuckle. Eamon was not so amused. "What may I ask is so funny?"

"Oh I'm just imaging how many different ways Elissa and Solona will torture or kill you for even suggesting such a thing." He said giggling.

Teagan who had been chuckling sobered instantly. "Eamon you really don't want to fuck with either of them." Eamon turned to stareat him but paused when he saw how wide-eyed and pale his brother was.

"They are just women." He said dismissively. "They will do as they are told." He added firmly.

Alistair stood up angrily and grabbed the front of Eamon's doublet and pulled him to his feet. Eamon's eyes bulged as he registered how strong Alistair was and that he was literally being held up by the velvet and silk waistcoat that was attached to his codpiece which in turn was now being pulled very tight against his most sensitive parts.

"Perhaps you haven't figured this out on your own yet, so let me enlighten you. Those two women are the most powerful people in this house. If they wanted to they could easily plot circles around us all. Ask Teagan what Solona did to your wife because she took offense to how I was treated as a child." Teagan paled further and just sat back, when Eamon turned to him and shook his head Eamon turned back to Alistair and push back enough that Alistair dropped him from the two inches off the ground he was holding him at. He straightened his clothes, he was relieved to no longer being held up by the angry warrior.

"What happened to my wife?" He asked with as much angry dignity as he could muster..

Alistair chuckled as he sat back down and picked up his glass of wine once more. "Let's just say that seventeen year old girl did something Teagan hasn't been able to do since Isolde came to Redcliffe. She got her to stop trying to seduce your brother." Alistair told him bluntly, and he raised his glass as if he'd made a toast.

Eamon's face turned a purplish color with all his suppressed anger and he turned on Teagan. "Is that true?"

Teagan shot Alistair a dark look for making him have to tell his brother this now. "It's why I stopped visiting." He finally admitted. "I hate her, you know that. That's why. If she's trying to sleep with me, who else has she been unfaithful with?"

Eamon fell back in his chair. "I'm almost afraid to ask how she did that then..." He said with a small voice.

"I fucked him loud enough that everyone heard and when she walked in we didn't stop." Solona said from the doorway. When the three men looked up Solona was looking at her nails with disinterest. "So now Teagan can't say a word against Elissa without worrying my eighteen year old ass is going to out him for sleeping with a 'child' more than half his age. Your wife was so mortified by the fact she got off on watching us, your sex life has likely improved because she's imagining us while trying desperately to get pregnant even though her womb is a shivered as a prune." She looked up casually, as if she hadn't just told him his love-match marriage was a sham, and that his wife was lusting after his brother, whom this very young woman had fucked and now had over a barrel so he'd have to back whatever Elissa wanted.

" Anora is just as fertile as your wife, just so you know, so she's out as a suitable wife because Alistair cannot be the last Theirin. As a Grey Warden he's not going to be able to father children for too long, so we can't be wasting time with an infertile bitch. Elissa is very lucky she's not already pregnant as she is very fertile." Solona continued to the speechless men. "And the only reason she isn't is me." She turned to Alistair. "Those two days she said no... blame me because I've been monitoring her cycle and I told her those were the days she'd get pregnant, and by the way, in two days your cut off again for two more." She said with a wink making him blush a deep red.

She stared at the gapping Arl. "Now if you dare to plot against my cousin again I will see how fast you can run from both my fireballs and the darkspawn just for fun, are we clear?" She asked sickly sweet. The men managed to nod. She turned and walked away.

"I warned you." Teagan whispered once he was sure she was gone.

Alistair began to giggle as he looked up at Teagan. "And she had you thinking you were in control that whole time."

Teagan actually blushed to the roots of his hair and the flush went down to his chest. "Shut up Alistair."

He could see Eamon was about to have a stroke if he didn't get a chance to yell at someone and he didn't feel like hanging around to hear it so he got up and took his glass of wine and plate of cheese. "I'll see you both later." He walked out and as he closed the door her heard Eamon ask Teagan, "Did you ever sleep with my wife?"

Alistair didn't want to know that so he beat a hasty retreat, didn't stop he from hearing their raised voices as he ran for the dining room to get a stronger drink.

  


Anora managed to find Elissa alone the next morning as she returned to the room she shared with Alistair. Their conversation had been much more civil. Anora had basically asked for her support. Elissa had smiled and told her she would support her for queen, but she had some demands. First, if Anora didn't have any children, any children of Elissa and Alistair's would be made Heir to the crown, and that she would remain Teyrnessa of Highever. Her second child would inherit the Teyrn, and she wanted that in writing _before_ the Landsmeet. Anora was agreeable to that much. She also insisted on Loghain being given a _fair_ trial and executed _if_ found guilty of treason, Anora had agreed reluctantly. The first bit was reasonable requests and something Anora had been prepared to offer herself as she knew she couldn't have children. From the way Elissa had demanded it in writing she knew Elissa knew too, likely from her Healer Mage cousin, or so Anora thought. It never occurred to her that Cailan himself might have said anything to her.

  


During breakfast in the hall that morning talk had turned to the alienage and how the elves living there were being kept inside to stop the spread of a disease. Anora suggested that the 'plague' in the alienage might be something her father was involved in. Solona was especially interested in a plague that only affected one species.

That investigation by the party started with a group of healers only seeing elves, so they went in the backdoor and found a Tevinter slaving ring. The leader, Caladrian, offered them a letter saying he was working for Loghain in exchange for the elves. Elissa agreed until she had the letter in hand and then she and the rest of the party killed every slaver in the alienage and freed and healed all the elves still there.

For once Alistair had held his tongue rather than object like Wynne had when Elissa had appeared to have accepted the slavers deal. It wasn't that he honestly thought she would take it, but slavery was one of those things he hated and he didn't always think before opening his mouth to let his opinion be known. He was glad he did this time, in part because he had a feeling she was going to double-cross the slaver, and because he really had taken her words about seeing her actions in the worst possible light to heart. Most of his life it had been that way, even with the people he was suppose to trust to look out for those types of things looking the other way or abusing their power. He'd thought everyone did it, until Elissa. When he had congratulated her on getting the letter she had beamed at him, making him feel like he'd won a great prize. She had pretended it wasn't a big deal, shrugging and had said slavers weren't honorable so they deserved anything bad that happened to them.

Wynne had felt bad about questioning her, but Elissa had shrugged it off. If she had actually been about to take the deal ,then she was glad Wynne was willing to stand up and call her out on it, though privately she was hurt Wynne had thought she'd go for it.

Elissa was even more relieved that Alistair hadn't even flinched when she'd said she'd take the deal. Elissa felt like their talk the other day, while he had deflected most of it with humor and sex, had made him think about how he presented himself to her regarding trust. She'd certainly thought about it and was going to make an effort to curb her tendency to strike first when someone tried to hurt him.

The Elven leader, Valendrian, was grateful when he understood that Elissa had no intention of ever actually agreeing to the deal. She just wanted the proof that Loghain was involved so he could be held accountable. Valendrian had been surprised that she had every intention of trying to recover those Elves that were already gone. She'd insisted that he give her all the names, and descriptions that he could gather on those that were missing, especially the children. As a thank you for what she had done, he gave her a dagger Duncan had once given to him.

Getting the dagger reminded her they hadn't gone to the Warden Vault yet and the Wardens and Elissa made plans to go on the way back. The non-wardens headed back to the estate. They made sure to grab all the Warden documents and items like the Archdemon blood vials and anything of real value to send to Soldier's Peak. Solona didn't want anything left in the capital with the Blight on.

Two days before the Landsmeet Alistair and Elissa went back to Wade's to get their new armor. To say the armor was beautiful was a sad understatement. It had a glossy black Theirin dragon on the front of the matte black breastplate, the outline of the dragon had some subtle silver outline shadow work that she had never seen done on black armor before.

The Theirin dragon on Cailan's armor and its design and function was all about gold and making Cailan look impressive and kingly. Alistair's plate made him look dangerous and deadly. The armor gave off a vibe of authority the way only the finest crafted suit of armor could. Wade had added crushed rubies and embedded them in the eye sockets of the dragon to make it look like red glittering eyes were staring from his chest. Lightly in the background behind the dragon was the laurel of the Couslands edged in the same silver only more subtle, as if the dragon was standing guard in front of it, and on the shoulder guards were the cloak attachments and on each of the palm wide round disks were the Grey Warden Griffins each facing the shoulder they were on.

Elissa nearly cried it was so beautiful. "Master Wade I have _never_ seen better work!" she whispered with reverence.

Wade excitedly babbled about how he worked so hard and enjoyed the experience of working with such materials. Elissa pretended to pay attention but really she was watching Alistair's face. He had yet to say anything but his face was an open book of awe, respect, confidence, wonderment and even a little fear. He placed his hand on the dragon's face and pulled his hand back quickly.

"It's warm!" He exclaimed.

Wade scoffed. "Of course it's warm. Your little Dwarven friend came by yesterday with the master craft rune stones you wanted installed. Flame protection, added reinforcement of the armor, and the agility stones. The reinforcement and agility stone are permanent but the elemental stone is replaceable, if you need it to be." He sniffed. "At least he didn't blight my work with inferior stones. Simple fellow but a very good crafter." He added with approval. Elissa was surprised that Sandal had chosen the stones and taken the initiative to see they were embedded in the armor in such a way they couldn't be removed. It would make those protections stronger than if they were removable like the stones for fire protection.

Wade was going on about something else but she wasn't listening so when he held up a mirror image suit but with the chest heraldry reversed she nearly stumbled to the floor in surprise. The Cousland Laurels were front and center on her armor, outlined with the same silvery effect, and the Theirin dragon head was smaller almost in the background and ringed by the laurels and it's eyes too were embellished with the crushed rubies.

"One of the runes is different protection. The reinforcement and flame protection runes are there of course, but there is a rune for protection from darkspawn taint. Never seen it's like before." Wade said with awe.

Both changed into the armor to make sure they fit properly. Elissa didn't like the under-armor and decided to get some black leathers from Wade. That man must have assumed she'd do so because he had some already made but they needed a little tailoring for her. Alistair's new under-armor leathers fit him almost too well. Elissa was biting her finger hard to stop herself from moaning when he was standing in both the whole set and just the leathers as he took the armor off.

They paid Wade in a mix of gold and traded him some of the drake skin for his stores. The armor was boxed up tight and Wade promised to have it delivered by sundown. They took back all the high dragon skin and bone he hadn't used, but promised they would never let anyone else use it to make armor for them. Elissa had plans for some of the Dragon bone though. She wanted to get Rory a dragon bone sword, hopefully before they went up against the Archdemon.

The rest of that day and the next were spent getting their plans and actions ready for the Landsmeet. Elissa was a little concerned about Rory coming to the Landsmeet but it couldn't be helped he was going to be needed to testify against Loghain and Howe. Even though he was dead they needed to prove his guilt so they would not be charged in return for killing him, and so his lands would be forfeit. While Elissa had no hard feelings against Delilah Howe or even Nathaniel, Thomas was another matter. She had no idea where he was, but she knew he'd been at his father's side at Highever, and likely to inherit rather than the other two whom Rendon Howe had not favored, and she wanted the lands striped from him.

Solona, Rory, Alistair, and Elissa had gone over their plans time and again. All of them except Jowan knew about the Letter of Succession and the four decided without him when them would use it. All the other plans had been decided with Jowan, Riordan, Anora and Eamon present. Anora was still deluded into thinking Elissa was going to support her, Eamon thought they were supporting Alistair, and everyone else was holding their breath waiting to see what the outcome would be.

Zevran and his abilities to deliver messages without being seen or suspected was used to contact Bann Sighard and Bann Alfstanna regarding their family members that were held by Howe and where they were. Elissa had tucked them away in an inn and Solona and Wynne had treated them both as well as they could until they were collected. Both families had pledged their support any way Teyrnessa Cousland decided to go. Arl Wulff of West Hill also gladly threw his support behind Elissa rather than Eamon.

With plans in place they were as ready as they could be. Tomorrow was going to be either the beginning of the end of Loghain or Ferelden. There was just one last thing Elissa needed to do for Alistair.

  


When they had been in the vault Alistair had been looking for a specific chest. He'd said Duncan's things would be in it. Elissa and Solona had found it first not realizing it was Duncan's until they had opened it and seen the Warden symbol on the shield, covering a well used, but cared for warden captain's uniform and a bound old looking but cared for book with Duncan's name in it written in code. Solona had smiled and hidden the chest. "Give it to him in private, he'll be very emotional." She had whispered.

Elissa had gotten the shield to Wade's shop and he'd had one of his apprentices buff the shield so it gleamed like new. She'd wrapped it up and brought it back to the estate and hid it under their bed.

Alistair was a bundle of nerves that night, he kept getting up to pace and he'd ask questions about what he should say, and when he should ask something and if he did should he use the 'Cailan voice'. Elissa had enough and she stood and reached down to take the chest out.

Alistair's eyes opened wide as he stared. "Is that--?"

"It was Duncan's." She said, confirming his unfinished question. "I was going to give it to you in the morning, I thought you be more nervous then, but I think it might help you tonight to see what is in here." She told him as she opened the chest.

Right on top was the shield. Alistair's eyes instantly filled with silent tears as he took in the shield of his mentor. He knelt down heavily. "This is..his shield. It was a gift from Maric." He admitted softly.

He spent quite some time going through the belongings, telling her a little more about Duncan with each piece, and more about the wardens who had died in general. The pranks and things they did that made Duncan both laugh and want to drown the group as a whole in the harbor. It was getting late when he pulled out a letter that was addressed to him that had been hidden inside the book. Elissa left the room to give him a moment to read the letter, and went and got a bottle of wine and a small plate of cheese that the cook had left in the cool storage room.

When she re-entered the room he was leaning against the fireplace with his hands outstretched. He didn't look up when she walked in. She carefully placed everything down by the chairs in front of the fire and walked over to him, placing her hand on his shoulder.

"He knew her." He whispered without looking at her. She didn't say anything, she just wrapped her arms around his waist. "He said she was a friend, and that he'd promised her he'd check on me. That's why he was at the tourney. He was seeing if I was happy. When I wasn't he offered me the chance to become a Warden. He was impressed with my skills. He wanted me to be his successor and take over as Warden-Commander when he went for his calling. I feel like I let him down now."

She wrapped her arms around his waist. "You haven't let him down." She whispered to him. "Things are much different than when he wrote that letter. When he wrote it, Ferelden had a King, and a line of heirs that could keep the country stable, and he had a large band of Wardens who while rough around the edges were true to their callings. They needed a person of strong moral character to lead them. They needed you." She let that sink in first for a minute before she continued. "But then the Wardens were betrayed and the role you are needed for has changed. I think Duncan would be very proud of the job you've done. You helped train Solona, you still guide her, you are helping to re-build the Wardens of Ferelden into the right kind of Order, one that from what we learned from the Dwarves the others have forgotten. You are going to be a voice the world will hear when you speak. You are going to do so much for both Ferelden and the Wardens, but also Thedas as a whole. And he would be so very proud of you, as I am."

He slowly turned and she was surprised to see his eyes were dry, she'd thought he was hiding his tears from her. His eyes held a passion, fire and intensity that was new. This was a man who knew who he was and where he was going, and no one was going to stop him, not even her. Elissa couldn't help the strong reaction she had to the look. Her body flooded with an almost overwhelming need to both hold him and fall at his feet. Her pulse sped up and her breathing was labored as she tried to catch her breath. Her hands clung to his waist and what little strength she had was needed to hold herself up. He pulled her to him and kissed her passionately.

"We do this together." He ordered her, and Elissa was helpless to do anything but nod.

 

 

Elissa helped Alistair place the Warden cloak to the new Theirin Armor. The blue cloak with the black armor was striking. It was taking her breath away to see him in it. Her own armor was just as arresting.

Alistair affixed her silk embroidered Highever blue cloak to her attachments. She hadn't noticed until this morning because the breastplate itself was so beautiful, but Wade had placed the Highever Lions on each of her attachments facing towards her chest. Standing together it was obvious Alistair and Elissa were indeed a powerful force together, yet the designs made it obvious they were also separate. Two people, not one subservient to the other. That would be an important factor in this Landsmeet, and she was impressed Wade had taken the initiative to do something of this caliber without checking first. Especially with High Dragon hide. The symbolism on the breastplates were a powerful political statement, but he'd have known that too. Wade was a master-craftsman who worked exclusively for the nobility of Ferelden, and despite appearances he was not tone-deaf to gossip and rumors.

Eamon was already gone when they stepped out and met with Solona, Rory, Jowan and Teagan in the front hall.

Rory was the first to see them and he gave them a wolf-whistle. "Wow! I knew you were going to get Wade to do something with that hide but damn sister that is amazing!" He couldn't help but run his fingers down her arm in admiration of the armor. He came away even more impressed when he felt the slight heat from the enchantments.

Solona and Teagan was just as impressed and came over for a closer look. Solona was impressed with the Grey Warden embellishments, with the Warden-Constable's cloak on the armor no one was going to mistake him for anything else, at least from behind. Rory was more impressed with the silver shadowing effect. Teagan was a little misty eyed as he took in the dragon head.

"I haven't seen the like ever." Said Teagan. "Even Maric never looked so impressive in his armor."

Alistair was blushing a deep red and Elissa giggled. "He might need to keep his helmet on to hide the blush though."

Rory came over, took Elissa's hand and made her twirl slowly. On the back of her blue cloak was the Highever Coat of Arms. A shield with the Cousland Laurels with the red salient lions outside the shield, and blue and silver embellishments. The Grey Wardens weren't the only ones with hidden warehouses of goods in the city. The Couslands had them as well, and that's where Elissa had found the Landsmeet cloak that was once her father's.

Rory was in his Warden Armor and his Warden cloak, his shield had the coat of arms of his family painted on it. Solona was in her normal Warden Commander's Armor with Duncan's cloak attached with her two star metal daggers, she'd left her staff in her room. The metal in the daggers were just as good as her staff was at helping her direct her spells and draw from the Fade now that Sandal had played with them. Alistair was carrying Starfang and Duncan's shield, while Elissa carried the Highever sword and shield. They were an impressive sight. Teagan also was dressed in silverite armor with the Bann of Rainsfaire heraldry on his silk cloak and shield.

"Eamon is out making sure everyone is on board with making the Landsmeet a trial for Loghain." Teagan told her.

Elissa smiled indulgently."Your brother is in for a great many surprises today, but Loghain's trial and sentencing is going to happen first."

Teagan did a double take at way the group had arranged themselves around Elissa and not Alistair. He blinked a couple of times. "You're not putting Alistair forward, are you?" He asked carefully as so many little hints suddenly added up and he had a flash of insight. "Cailan spoke privately to you and then you left Ostagar almost immediately."

She laughed her golden green eyes flashing with mirth. "Yes, he was concerned that _all_ the heirs to the throne were in Ostagar that morning." She held up a letter still closed with Cailan's red seal.

Teagan laughed with her. "I knew I liked you." He said fondly. He smiled to Alistair who was looking rather relieved that the truth was out to the man who had truly cared for him and that he didn't seem mad about the deception. "He was going to try to force you to marry Anora by telling the Landsmeet of your engagement to her, even with the engagement to Elissa announced to the alliance. Now it won't matter, you'll never be king without Elissa anyway."

Solona snorted and nudged Alistair with her hip, making him look down at her while she grinned with a look of pure mischievous delight. "He'll never be king period. Your brother was wrong, I can't release him. The only way out of the Grey wardens is to die." She said with an air of amusement. "And I won't kill my brother just to prove the point."

"At least not today." Alistair said with a grin as he tried to push her over.

Solona tumbled into Rory who caught her reflexively and helped her to stand back up. "I might need to rethink that." She muttered loud enough that everyone caught it.

Teagan laughed with excitement along with the others who by now were used to Alistair and Solona's occasional bouts of sibling play-fighting when things got too serious. "Shall we get going? We don't need to give Alistair another chance at getting himself killed." They walked to the front of the hall and they walked out with the rest of the party falling into formation behind them. All of them, even Wynne and Sten were in the regular Grey Warden Armor. Zevran and Jowan were in Senior Warden Armor finishing the effect.

 

It was a quiet walk to the Palace where the Landsmeet would meet. Once they left the estate everyone was careful not to say a word. There were people lining the streets to see all the nobles go by and with so many witnesses they didn't fear an assassination attempt.

When they arrived Elissa went with the rest of the party to the back of the hall near the corner. Here they were out of sight of most of the nobles and it was from here that Elissa wanted to work from. Most of the party was here to watch their backs and Zevran was already on the alert and had warned her of the six archers with crossbows. Wynne was prepared with her barrier spells and had a lyrium potion in her off hand.

Teagan was on their side as far as making Elissa queen went, he was also smart enough to know Eamon had made a huge mistake when he'd underestimated Elissa. Seeing her in action against Isolde, Anora and Eamon himself he knew she could play the game and he had no intention of warning his brother just how much he'd fucked up. He did however tell him they had arrived and were ready to start.

 

The hall was barely dressed in its Landsmeet formal draperies. The flags of Ferelden flew but there was only a single Landsmeet flag on each balcony when one should have been flying over the throne.

It took almost a half hour before the opening ceremony of roll calls were taken. The majority of the nobles were dressing in their finery clothing of silks and satins, a holdover from the past one hundred years of occupation by Orlais. Ferelden was historically a warrior nation and as such only Elissa and her party along with Loghain and his were wearing traditional armor, Teagan stood out in the upper deck as the only Bann also wearing traditional silverite armor.

The first blow to Loghain happened during the roll call of the Landsmeet, when the Assembly refused to declare anyone but Elissa Cousland Teyrn of Highever. The second blow had been the Landsmeet declaring him Teyrn Loghain, not regent. In his hurry to secure the country he had never submitted his changes to the Landsmeet Assembly Chamber Lord, there for it had never been official, even in an emergency it was required after a week, same as the evidence against her family. As the charges had never been presented to the Assembly they would not agree to remove such a powerful family from its seat without trial.

Loghain had found Thomas Howe and he was sitting in for his father, however at the age of seventeen, the boy was unable to vote in his father's stead. He required a regent, something Loghain was able to do and as Howe hadn't been dead a week that measure was allowed. That was also the only reason the boy was present.

Once the attendance was done Eamon as the lord to call the Landsmeet was allowed to open the proceedings. "My Lords and Ladies of the Landsmeet Teyrn Loghain would have us give up our freedoms, traditions out of fear! He placed us on this path with lies, assassinations, and treason! And yet he would have us hand the reins of this country and its destiny over to him and allow him to rule as a tyrant!" His speech was rousing and the many minor lords of the lands beholden to him raised a cheer. Elissa was impressed with the speech he had made the opening salvo with precision. Loghain would have to refute the charges and they could then start the presenting.

Loghain stepped forward and made a show of clapping but his whole manner made the slow clapping look mocking. " A fine performance by the Arl of Redcliffe. But what proof do you offer?" The question had Elissa rolling her eyes. Clearly he had no idea the amount of evidence they had amassed.

"No one is buying it!" Loghain pressed on. "We all know you are trying to put a puppet on the throne. Every soul here knows it!" He scoffed. "The better question is who will pull his strings, you or someone else?"

"The same person who pulls your Loghain." Elissa spoke up loudly as she stepped forward. All around her the lesser lords of the alliance stepped aside and allowed her to pass through. With her walked Alistair, Rory and Solona. The rest stayed back with Jowan in the center of the group.

"No one pulls my strings!" He said defiantly. "I make my own path."

Elissa gave him a condescending smile. "As do we." She said mockingly. "Now that that is established. Shall we proceed with the charges Arl Eamon of Redcliffe has announced." She asked sweetly.

Loghain's eyes narrowed dangerously. "I have done only what was necessary to protect Ferelden. But tell us Teyrnessa, how will the Orlesians take our nations from us? Will they send their Grey Warden puppets or will they simply issue their commands through your would be bastard prince? How much Ferelden blood does Orlesian gold buy these days?"

Elissa rolled her eyes. "I have not seen nor spoken at anyone in the Grey Warden Command other than those that survived Ostagar or were recruited afterward." She said gesturing to Solona, Alistair and Rory. "The Assembly has asked you a question Teyrn Loghain, do you refute the charges? You have to say yes or no, or we will summarily find you guilty."

He glared at her. He was well aware of the way the Landsmeet worked. "I haven't heard anything but speculation. Just what are these charges?"

She continued to smiled sweetly. "The charges are; Murder of Teyrn Bryce Cousland, Eleanor Cousland, Oriana Cousland, Owen Cousland and the entire Cousland household, and the Attempted Murder of Elissa Cousland, and Ser Rory Gilmore." The whole hall was alive with the yelling and cries of the nobles over the charges being laid out. Most had heard rumors but no one seemed to know the whole story outside of the Highever alliance. The fact that the only nobles that were quiet were the alliance had the other nobles looking between the two sides trying to see who would crack first.

Rather than let that be the only topic of conversation she continued with her charges. "Further charges of Attempted Murder of Arl Eamon Guerrin, Gray Wardens Solona Amell and Alistair Theirin." Those nobles that hadn't believed Alistair was Maric's son now had those delusions blown away as Alistair took off his helmet. Standing next to Elissa he looked like Maric reborn. Even Loghain did a double take as Alistair stood tall and stared him down with a determined look.

"Subverting Chantry Law." She continued. That one instantly got the hall to fall silent, with the exception of a single gasp from the Grand Cleric. "For interfering in the apprehension of an escaped apostate and the kidnapping and torture of the Templar and noble Irminric Eremon." His sister Alfstanna could be heard crying softly in the upper reaches of the hall. The nobles were beginning to see this wasn't a simple case of one noble family against another, these were serious charges.

"Further kidnapping and torture of Oswyn Sighard, and the Grey Warden Riordan of Highever." Elissa continued to recite from memory.

"Charges of selling Ferelden citizens into Slavery--" The hall exploded into shouts and cried as the nobles once more were whipped up. Cries of "there is no slavery in Ferelden" and "what have you done" were heard. Loghain was glaring so hard at Elissa that if he had any magical powers she was sure she would be dead. His hostile glares didn't frighten her. She was riding her own wave of rage and hers was fueling her ability to look calm while presenting these charges and because she knew by the end of the day he would be dead. She would personally order his exaction before she left the hall today.

"And TREASON; for abandoning our King on the field of battle, declaring himself King to a foreign Government, Kidnapping Queen Anora, Ignoring the Blight threat and working against Ferelden's best interest in the matter of said Blight, and the Line Theft of Highever, and murder of the crown prince of Ferelden as per this assembly." Elissa finished. "How do you plead Teyrn Loghain?"

He glared a moment longer before he simply said, "Not guilty."

It took several minutes before the Chamber Lord could regain order. In whole time Elissa and Loghain had a stare down. Neither moved.

Loghain had to admit the girl was clever, and had her father's spine of steel. He'd known even Maric to back down when he stared at him this intently. But this slip of a girl was standing toe to toe with him and daring him to do something that would allow her to kill him. And he had no doubt that was her intention here, if he failed to convince those fools in the hall he was doing what was best for Ferelden she would put the untested bastard on the throne and order himself to be killed for Howe's crimes against her family.

As he took her in Elissa examined him with interest. He was dressed in his own personal Chevaliers armor, as he had since the Battle of the River Dane. The armor had obviously seen battle. It had dents and knicks in it from past skirmishes. His strength had not diminished in his time in Denerim, nor his determination, though his hair was now shot with grey along the temples and the lines of worry and anger were now etched permanently into his face..

"The charges have been refuted." The Chamber Lord cried out. "You may proceed with your evidence Teyrnessa Cousland."

She nodded and turned to the crowd. "I call Warden Jowan, former Mage apprentice of Kinloch Hold Circle." Jowan slowly made his way to the front of the Hall. He was decked out as a Warden Mage so it took Loghain a moment to see who he was. The former blood mage was looking much healthier than the last time he'd seen the man. He'd only seen him for a moment when Howe had told him he found someone to spy on Arl Eamon to find evidence of his treachery against Anora. Cailan had lost faith in the man, it had made sense to see why.

As Loghain watched the man come forward he also saw Elissa lean into Alistair for support and a quick whisper in her ear. For a moment he was lost in a memory. He had done the same thing when talking to Rowan with the same look, and she he, before he had suggested she marry Maric. He had to shake his head to remember his fool of a friend was long gone, as was the love of his life. He was fighting his friend's bastard for his life, not the man he who had betrayed him more than once.

"Starting with the Subversion of Chantry Law charges." Elissa said loudly to the crowd. "Jowan please tell the assembly how you ended up in Redcliffe."

It took Jowan nearly ten minutes to explain how he had been running from the Templars and ended up just outside Denerim when he was captured. He'd been taken to the Denerim Chantry but before they arrived they had run into Howe's men and been taken to his estate in the city. He told them hold the Templar Irminric Eremon and his partner had refused to turn him over and how they were imprisoned and he was given a choice. To help Loghain take the throne and stop a civil war by poisoning the Arl or they would send him to the chantry to be made tranquil or killed. As support for his story Elissa also produced a letter sealed by the Chantry in Redcliffe stating that an Elven messenger was dispatched to watch for word that Eamon was dead and he was to report directly back to Howe. The letter was handed over to the Chamber Lord for verification. He nodded his agreement on the content of the letter. Also she showed them the letter Rory and the others had found in Howe’s private chambers, declaring the Apostate had been sent to poison the Arl.

"I call on Bann Alfstanna to testify on her brother's condition." Elissa called when Jowan stepped to Solona's left when Rory refused to move from Solona's right side.

Bann Alfstanna walked to the railing in front of her. She told the court of her brothers mind being broken by the lyrium withdrawal and by the torture he endured during that past four months. She explained how the guard had found him huddled in a filthy cell in the former Arl Howe's Denerim estate. Her words were both emotional and powerful, many of the Lords had backed away from their former opinions regarding Loghain's possible innocence. Too many had seen his questionable actions, were rebelling and the rest had seen Howe working as Loghain's right hand since Ostagar.

Elissa thanked her for her testimony. "Documents retrieved from the estate plainly say that Howe had kept Templar Eremon to keep him from reporting back to the Chantry about the interference with his duties and the freeing of the mage in question to poison a member of the nobility, Arl Eamon."

"I have yet to hear a charge leveled against myself." Loghain said with a bored tone. "Both parties dealt with Rendon Howe, not with myself." He said waving his hand dismissively. "And that is if we are to take the word of a blood mage who has been granted not only his life, but a degree of freedom by being made a Grey Warden This level of leniency will buy anyone's loyalty. And the Elf is not present to be questioned." He replied arrogantly.

Arl Eamon spoke up to counter this argument. "His stay of execution for my attempted murder was due to his finding the cure to the poison used." Loghain looked astonished that Jowan had managed that. Elissa smirked knowing that Loghain had likely used a natural poison like a dragon or some other creature venom, something that there was no antidote for. Using a natural poison made it even more difficult to pinpoint the type of venom in time to counter it. It was an old assassin trick, and if Loghain refuted it was possible he implicated himself by knowing what poison was used. "Further he was conscripted into the Grey Wardens and no one but a King elected by this assembly can ask a Warden-Commander to re-consider such an action. My family does not see this as an act of leniency as his life will be sworn to defeating the Blight for what remains of his life. Hardly the freedom you would have this assembly imagine it to be."

Loghain turned his back dismissive of Arl Eamon and turned his eyes to Bann Alfstanna. "As for your brother, you have my deepest sympathies, but I can't not be held accountable for what a broken man thinks he heard while being held under such conditions. I had nothing to do with Howe's incarceration of your brother."

The Grand Cleric stood at the rail and looked down on Loghain with disgust. "Our laws were subverted on your behalf if not your behest, Teyrn Loghain. As such I find you in contempt of Chantry Law even if this assembly does not."

Elissa was quite happy as she saw more and more lords change their standing positions which was reflecting their changing mood. The trial was going their way, even with the blame being pushed onto Howe. Having the Chantry on their side from the start was a great victory. Not many of the lesser lords would be willing to vote against them when it came to subversion of their laws. Loghain will have lost quite a few votes with that proclamation alone.

Elissa spoke out again. "Bann Sighard will testify for his son Oswyn."

It was the Bann's turn to testify and he spoke of speaking against Howe and Loghain just two days before his son began to be tortured until they agreed to Support Loghain. His son's legs had been so damaged by the torture at the hands of Howe and his men that he would never walk properly again. His son had escaped with the help of the Wardens who were rescuing all of Howe's prisoners. That proclamation also was going to bring some additional credit for the Wardens but painting them in a heroic light, making their words hold more weight as time went on.

"Once more you state that Howe was the one who perpetrated these crimes and offer no proof I had anything to do with them." Loghain said more aggressively than before.

"Are you suggesting Howe did all this in your name and you knew nothing?" Elissa asked innocently, but the condescension was clear to anyone who was listening as carefully as the lords in the hall were.

From their vantage point on the upper level Eamon and Teagan looked on with glee. "I'm glad you dropped the idea of Anora and Alistair. I'd hate to see what she'd do to you for trying to get between them." Teagan said, hiding his own amusement as Eamon's face paled. He hadn't actually given up those plans but watching Elissa work not just the information she had, but presenting it in the worst possible way was making him a little nervous. Elissa could easily be as formidable as his sister had been in her glory years, and that was a frightening thought for the old man who was used to woman bowing down since his sister's death. He'd forgotten the lessons she taught him about underestimating powerful woman with an axe to grind. Elissa had many axes to grind and she was using Loghain's neck to sharpen hers right now. Eamon didn't doubt for a second she would turn on him if he tried to make Anora Alistair's wife instead.

"I would never condone the actions of kidnapping and torture of a man's child against him for speaking his own mind." Elissa being as close as she was to Loghain could actually see the sincerity in his eyes and she did actually believe him about this one charge at least, but she couldn't openly show it. If she caved even a little the lords would start to wonder if Loghain had known anything, any doubt would not work well for her. She did betray herself to Loghain alone when she blinked and looked down a moment to re-gather.

"I call Senior Warden of the Orlesian command Riordan of Highever." Elissa called out. Loghain was glaring with even more hatred than before but his gaze was centered on the new Warden coming forward.

Riordan came forward slowly and stood by Elissa when he came to the front. "Please tell the Landsmeet the events that lead you to being found in Arl Howe's dungeon."

"I was stationed with the Orlisian outpost in Jader. On the seventh of Kingsway, a group of extremely tired riders came in on near dead horses. They said they had been sent by Teyrnessa Cousland to warn the Wardens that the King, most of his army, and Commander of the Grey of Ferelden with all his forces had fallen at Ostagar, and that Regent Loghain had declared that the Grey Wardens were traitors for betraying the King to the Darkspawn."

There was a great many people asking questions. Finally Arl of West Hills Wulff asked the question of Elissa. "Is that the message you sent. That _Regent_ Loghain had declared the Grey Wardens traitors for conspiring with the darkspawn?" He asked looking doubtful.

"My men and I got all those messages from one of Loghain's captains as they rode through Lothering the morning after the battle. He told us of the King's death, the destruction of the army and the supposed betrayal of the Grey Wardens. It was the Captain who first called him Regent Loghain. At the time there was no way the Queen could have even heard the news of her husband's death, or have fallen into such grief that she would be required to abdicate her authority for a time." Elissa explained calmly. "I sent my men on to warn the Warden Army to not send men in small bands as they would likely be imprisoned. At the time I sent my men, I had no idea Solona and Alistair had survived. Having known the Commander of the Grey Duncan, I knew he would never betray King Cailan. He would never have allowed his men to be used as bait in a trap to kill the King, nor would he insure the Blight would spread by handing a victory over to the Darkspawn."

"You hardly knew the man." Loghain snapped. "He was Orlisian--"

"He was not." Alistair cried out.

Elissa placed a hand on his arm and he nodded curtly at her as she continued for him. "Duncan told me himself he was a son of Highever. He might have lived in Orlais for a portion of his life, like many Ferelden citizens, but he was as Ferelden as any of us." She said proudly.

"Aye, the man Duncan was a bastard of one of our cadet lines and born within my city of Highever." The Arl of Highever said from behind her. Elissa turned surprised to learn of it. The Arl was known for being protective of family. It surprised her to learn that he had an undeclared bastard in his family, especially one of such renown. It was another several minutes until the speculation died down enough to continue.

Riordan continued with his tale. "Once the message was received it was decided that only a native Ferelden warden should go and see if we could find either the Teyrnessa or any survivors and organize a plan for defending Ferelden. Messengers were also sent to all the Warden army staging points to await confirmation of Wardens being outlawed within Ferelden, even though we already had confirmation of the Blight. Our armies are camped out in Jader, Kirkwall, Cumberland and the Anderfels and Tevinter contingent is due next week in Cumberland. When I came across the border back in Kingsway the guards were just beginning to arrive to blockade the border. I was taken into custody and brought to Arl Howe's estate in Denerim. I was questioned and there was some mild torture but nothing like the others once I managed to defend myself. They never let me out of my cell again after that. I was held for approximately three and a half months before the Wardens freed me."

Loghain glared at the warden. "Most of the troops amassing on the boarder are not wardens, there are four legions of Chevaliers! FOUR! Orlesians who once here will not leave without trying to take Ferelden back. Your Order works with them and that's why Cailan is dead, because your wardens betrayed him! Filled his head with tales of flying griffins and daring battles." He bellowed at the Warden. "How else did these two survive?" He yelled as he pointed to Solona and Alistair.

"The Chevaliers are there to fight the Blight so it does not come into Orlais." Riordan replied calmly. "If it was a concern than all that needed to be done was to tell the Wardens the Orlisian army was not to enter Ferelden. Wardens are non-political for this very reason, nothing can interfere with our ability to fight the Blight."

"Besides it was you who retreated instead of charging when we lit the beacon that caused Cailan's death, not the Wardens you left to die defending him." Alistair snarled at Loghain.

"I saved my men, the beacon was lit much too late for the maneuver to be of any use. Had you done your job--" Loghain snarled back at Alistair.

"The tower YOUR MEN secured was swarming with darkspawn! We had to fight our way up to the beacon!" Alistair roared back at him.

"I was there at the War Council as well Teyrn Loghain, as was the Grand Cleric's assistant." Solona said speaking up for the first time. "I heard Duncan try to talk the king out of being on the front lines, same as you did." She pointed out. "It was Cailan who decided who was to go up the beacon tower. Our involvement in that was as much a surprise to Duncan as it was to myself and Alistair." She gave him a look of contempt. "As for how we survived, we were given help from the apostates in the Wilds. The one who rescued us turned into a giant bird and rescued us from the Tower as we were about to be overrun by Darkspawn."

The Grand Cleric spoke up once more. "You speak of Flemeth!" She cried out with dismay.

Solona stiffened but turned to the Grand Cleric and nodded. "That was the name she gave. As to if she is the Woman of Legends, I did not ask, nor did I care at the time. It seemed rude to do so as she had saved our lives." The Grand Cleric nodded, but her stare suggested she would have questions for Solona later. It was well known that Flemeth was real, It was never good for her to be on the move, when she moved war soon followed.

"Which leads to the next charges of attempted murder or the Grey Wardens and Witnesses against Loghain." Elissa called out above the buzzing of conversation in the hall. Once more the proclamation drew all eyes to the floor and the quiet spread out.

Solona, Elissa and Alistair took turns explaining their involvement in uncovering and overcoming the plots against them and the outwitting of Loghain's forces and the assassination attempts. They then introduced Zevran who in turn also told of the Crows being hired by to kill Alistair, Solona and Elissa on behalf of the Regent of Ferelden.

"But you never spoke to the person who hired the Crows." Bann Ceorlic called out. Elissa wanted dreadfully to yell at the noble for being an idiot. It was well known that Bann Ceorlic had his head so far up Loghain's ass he was incapable of an independent thought.

"Of course not, but it is bad for business to not take the name of the person paying is it not?" Zevran asked politely, in his armor he looked more respectable than usual and Elissa could see more lords listening intently than before. "And certainly when one is suppose to bring back proof of death."

"And yet you stand here in a Warden uniform." The Bann continued. It was obvious he'd been coached to make the interruptions.

"Of course. A failed assassination means my life is forfeit within the Crows. The Wardens have given me a chance to serve during the Blight to give my death more meaning then that of just another body in a back alley." Zevran explained.

"This is not a Blight!" Loghain hollered. He looked around at the shocked and dismayed looks. "Cailan was deceived by these Orlesian upstarts."

Elissa managed to keep a straight face but Alistair, Solona and ever Zevran smiled. "When did I become Orlesian?" Zevran asked Alistair rather loudly, his Antivan accent dripping with sarcasm, but with the acoustics of the hall it travelled to most of the lords, many started to snicker softly.

"Around the same time Maric's son and Solona Amell of the Noble Amells of Kirkwall did." Elissa said dryly but loud enough to be heard by most of the lords and Loghain who turned his hate filled eyes to her.

"Not a single member of the Wardens in this hall is an Orlesian." Solona said unintentionally mirroring Elissa's tone and stance. Their dismissal of his concerns made Loghain even angrier, but the only other sign was the tightening of his fists. "Even the one from the Orlesian command is a native Ferelden, they sent him knowing how you felt about them, trying to keep things peaceful and instead he was captured and tortured!"

"Like it or not Teyrn Loghain this is a Blight." Solona declared defiantly, with passion burning in her pale green eyes. "We have actually seen the Archdemon in the Deep Roads, the south has fallen, and the Blight sickness--"

The Lords were now in a complete uproar. Shouts of 'liar' and 'the Archdemon' could be heard echoing off the walls of the chamber.

Loghain leaded forward to be heard by the group. "You honestly think I did all these things?" He hissed at Elissa, his rage evident, but there was a calculating gleam to his madness. He was still a very dangerous enemy.

She gave him a sympathetic look. "All of them, no, I'm sure Howe did some on his own in your name, but you never did anything for the people in the way of the Horde, and for that alone I would still oppose you now. That and the fact that Highever was attacked before Ostagar means you had plans to kill Cailan anyway. He knew it too." Both knew she never would have said that much to him if they could have been overheard and his respect for 'Bryce's little Spitfire' grew. He should have listened more to Anora who said duty and honor was all the girl cared for, not petty revenge, although vengeance was part of why they both were here and Howe wasn't. His spies knew she hadn't been there herself until after Howe was dead, but the other warrior from Highever who had yet to speak up had been. He was also the only one who was strong enough and had enough rage to do what had been done to Howe among the ones who had been in Howe's estate.

Loghain gave her a thoughtful scowl. "Howe was wrong to dismiss you as an arrogant child playing soldier. But you are wrong, killing Cailan was never in my plans."

Elissa gave him a smug smile. "Once a man sees someone as a child forever will they see them as such. And while you had no plans for it Howe would have known if anyone escaped Highever that Cailan would need to die. My escape with the treasury was the worst thing that could have happened. I was a friend to Cailan while he was not."

Loghain had a strange look in his eyes as she stepped back into the embrace of Alistair who protectively moved her to his shield side stepping just slightly forward. The crowd began to settle once more as Chamber Lord once more called for order.

"You were hired to kill who exactly?" Loghain asked, while his eyes never left Elissa.

"I was asked to kill the surviving Grey Wardens Alistair, Solona and their Commander Elissa." Zevran said clearly. Everyone stared at Zevran clearly some had heard the rumors while others had not.

"The Teyrnessa is a Grey Warden?" Bann Ceorlic crowed. "She has given up her birthright to the Highever seat!"

"I have never done such a thing." Elissa stated calmly. She pulled out the letter sealed by Duncan. "This letter from Commander Duncan clearly states that I am what is referred to among the Wardens as a "Warden-Ally" which means that while not a Warden I am allowed to know certain secrets of the Order in the pursuits I am asked to help the Order with."

She handed the letter over to the Chamber Lord who read the letter and nodded his agreement. "The letter states that the Teyrnessa position is indeed that of a Warden-Ally and that the Commander has told her many of the secrets needed for her to help re-build the Order of Grey Wardens in Ferelden. It is addressed to the Seneschal of the Grey in Denerim."

"Out of curiosity where is the Grey Warden Seneschal Teyrn Loghain?" Solona asked, her voice deceptively calm.

He turned to her once more calmly than Elissa had expected him to be at this point. "All Grey Warden support staff were sent to Ostwick on the first ship I could arrange once I got back to the city. I personally made sure they left the city on that ship." Solona gave him a small nodded on thanks for seeing to that detail. At least Howe hadn't had a chance to torture and kill them too.

"That still doesn't prove what this assassin has to say!" Bann Ceorlic cried out. "He is an assassin being allowed to walk away freely, or he's a liar or both and a Grey Warden to boot, he cannot be trusted!"

"As I stated before I am a Warden for only as long as it takes for either my former comrades to come for me, or until I die at the hands of the darkspawn either way I should be dead in a few months." Zevran said much too calmly for it to be anything more than a façade in Elissa's mind, but his attitude seemed to unnerve Bann Ceorlic. "Either way I have no reason to lie."

There was a quiet buzzing of conversation as Zevran and Jowan retreated to the corner with the others. Now all the Lords in the hall knew of their position and had moved to allow the Wardens direct view of their Commander and Loghain.

Loghain once more looked curiously at Elissa. "You are not what I expected at all. You honestly think you are doing what is best for Ferelden?"

Elissa raise a brow at him. "Nor are you. I think I understand some of what drives you, but you are wrong. The Blight is the threat here, not Orlais. They are being selfish and self-serving by wishing to stop the Blight before it crosses their borders. They have no designs on invading a country about to be fielding armies of monsters and disease." He found her spirit refreshing after spending too many years around nobles it had been years since he'd seen her like among them, though he thought her still a native woman, but she was no child and she had a warrior spirit he did admire.

Her eyes hardened as Rory held out the next piece of evidence. "I have here a letter which is a confession to slave trading in the local Alienage. The selling of elves to the Tevinter Imperium." This time there was less outrage spoken, unlike earlier when the original charge was read, and the shock factor had been at this point washed away by so many things being brought to light.

The Chamber Lord took the letter with a shaking hand. His eyes betrayed his shock and disgust as he read the letter. "The letter is a confession of the Tevinter slaving lord Caladrias."

"I have the leader of the Elves, Valendrian here to give evidence of what has been happening in the Alienage, while the gates were closed." Elissa said with real fire in her whole being radiating out in waves of fury.

Valendrian was escorted in from the anti-chamber by Zevran and Leliana. The elf told how the plague spread after a troop of soldiers had spent considerable time near the local well, and the gates were closed to stop them from going to the other wells in the city. Within a day elves were getting sick. Three days later the 'healers' showed up taking in the sick, never to be seen again, when they started to avoid the healers they came and gathered the sick and took them forcefully to the clinic. Once he was taken he saw the reality of what was happening.

The elves were given a potion that was supposed to be the cure, once they were no longer showing signs of illness they were moved to the next warehouse where they were processed via order requirements and separated for shipment. He had been held in an order bound for the port city of Quarinus in northern of Tevinter to be sold to a blood mage along with several others beyond child-bearing years elves. Everyone in the room knew he'd likely have ended up a blood slave or sacrifice. When the stately elf was done, Elissa wasn't the only lord so appalled that there were tears in her eyes.

"Thank you Valendrian." She said quietly. "And I am so sorry, know if I win this I will do what I can to get your people back. No one deserves this."

He placed his hands on her face and wiped away her tears. "I would think those empty words from most, but you I will believe. Ma serannas, mala suledin nadas."

Elissa was confused, she knew the first half had meant, my thanks. The second half she didn't know. Zevran whisper to her as he passed her by, "Now you must endure. It has a deep context, I will explain later, yes?"

Elissa nodded her thanks for the translation. "There is no need, I know what he means." She gave Zevran a sincere smile and turned back to await Loghain's excuses.

Loghain took the floor once more. "There is no saving the Alienage. Damage from the riots of five months ago has yet to be repaired. There are now bodies rotting in their homes." He shook his head with disgust. "It is not a place I would send my worst enemy. And strategically there is no holding it against the raiding darkspawn if they come here. I am doing what I can to help Ferelden. The money was being used to shore up the defenses in the rest of the city." He turned to Elissa with a sharp glare. "I regret that it came to this for the elves, but I am doing my duty, everything I have done I did for the good of Ferelden," He said with conviction. "The elves can rebuild after."

Elissa was furious and she took two steps forward to slap Loghain's haughty face with her gauntleted hand. Rory and Alistair were faster and each took one of her arms to hold her back from actually doing violence in the hall. The law stated she could be ejected if she proceeded to do violence without the confines of a duel.

"How dare you!" Elissa cried out in her fury, she managed to slight lunge forward pulling Rory and Alistair half a step closer. "They were your responsibility and instead of doing your duty to Ferelden you handed over a foothold to Tevinter, all because you think Orlais is out to invade us. You delusional fool!"

"Elissa keep focused. We have to present the Line Theft charges now." Rory whispered to her. Elissa turned to look at him. These were the first words he'd spoke to anyone but her since he returned the night he'd killed Howe. She closed her eyes and took several deep breaths. "We can do this." She promised and turned to face Loghain once more, her political mask showing signs of wear but back in place.

"Which brings us to the charges of Treason, starting with the Line Theft charges." Elissa stated calmly. "With the Chamber Lords permission I will present my own testimony, and then Regent Bann Rory Gilmore will offer his own eyewitness testimony."

The Chamber Lord granted her request and she launched into the story of that night from the time her father called her to meet with Howe and Duncan right up until she left her father with her mother in the pantry. She added a line that her Father ordered Duncan to take her to Alistair in Ostagar, to be in line with the idea that their betrothal was in place before they actually met, rather than having to explain her overturned conscription and her father's blessing after death as they couldn't mention the Sacred Ashes Temple. Rory followed up with the same story only from his point of view, including the slaughter and the ranting of Howe about the missing treasury and the escape of Elissa and Duncan ruining everything.

"Teyrness, Howe came to me with documents which he said was proof of your father's collaboration with Orlais and bringing their forces into Ferelden. He said he and his men defended themselves and cleared the fortress when your father attacked him." Loghain said. "I had nothing to do with the attack on your family."

Elissa was nearly incoherent with her rage. Alistair yanked her further back and Rory was pushed behind Solona as she stepped forward. "So your excuse for the murder of a family who has been a part of Ferelden longer than there has been a Ferelden being murdered was, because a sociopathic monster said they were working with the enemy... An enemy that they fought just as hard as you did to kick them out of this country over twenty years ago?" She just shook her head at the unconscionable stupidity of the man in front of her. "Why would you trust him?"

"He was the only one who saw the threat of Orlais for what it was. An invasion with the Grey Wardens allied with the Orlesians disguised as a Blight!" He fired back at her.

"I have more refugees than can be accounted for by a large Raid! This is a Blight!" One of the Banns yelled from the railing.

"The Wardens have seen the Archdemon itself!" Another yelled.

"We need the Wardens!" Yelled others.

Loghain looked up to the nobles. "Even if this was a Blight, who says we need the Grey Wardens to fight it? They claim only they can end the Blight, but they failed at Ostagar and they tied their aid to the four legions of Chevaliers they would bring with them!" He tried to reason with them.

Alistair stared at him in disbelief. "We couldn't defeat the Blight at Ostagar because the Archdemon had yet to arrive. Blights only end when the Archdemon dies! Everyone knows this!" He cried. "We have been marching every Warden on Thedas to get here, from The Donarks, Rivain, Tevinter, Anderfels, The Free Marches and yes even Orlais to come here and defeat the Blight only for you to shut the borders and ignore the real threat!"

Elissa finally regained her ability to speak and when she did her rage was almost a living thing and everyone felt it. To Solona it irritated her magic. Had Elissa been a mage she'd likely had be about to turn abomination she was so lit up.

"How can you rule a country when you can't be trusted to oversee your most trusted and powerful ally. An ally who used your own paranoia to ignore a deadly danger all in the pursuit of power!" Her voice carried with it a calm but deadly tone that sent chills up the backs of even the bravest of Nobles. "Either you are the biggest delusional fool I have ever met, or you are a liar. Either way you are unfit to rule your own lands, even less Ferelden."

"You wish to speak of Treason Teyrnessa?" He raged back at her. "You who kidnapped and murdered my daughter!"

"She did no such thing father." Anora said from behind her father. Nobles gasped as the cloaked figure of Anora stepped forward from behind Bann Teagan who had brought her to the floor a few minutes before. Her testimony was to be next.

Loghain seemed to lose his angry stance and sagged slightly with relief at seeing her alive. "Anora, I had thought you dead."

She gave her father an adoring look only a child can give a parent. "I would have been, except the Wardens saved me from Howe."

Loghain looked surprised. "But why would he do this?"

"He wanted to frame Arl Eamon or Teyrnessa Elissa for my murder to ensure Highever stayed with him, and that you both stayed in power." She explained. "He also said you knew about the assassins, Highever and the poisoning of Arl Eamon, and that the slavery was your idea because you needed money to fund your campaign against the rebelling Banns." Loghain hung his head. With her words Anora had sealed his guilt with the Landsmeet.

"I was kept locked within the Palace ever since my father returned to Denerim. I have been unable to escape on my own." She looked down at Solona and Rory. "If it had not been for these Wardens, Howe would have killed me."

"So the Warden influence has poisoned your mind against me. Probably with blood magic." He said sadly, almost defeated. "I was trying to protect you from this."

He turned and faced down Elissa once more. This time his eyes held a edge that Elissa was unsure was madness or something else. "My Lords and Ladies, our country has been threatened before and I triumphed over the forces that threatened us. Ferelden has always prevailed and we will do so again! We have proven that Ferelden cannot be conquered as long as we remain united. It is only when betrayed from within that we stumble. Stand with me now and we can defeat even a Blight."

"So now you admit it is a Blight!" Elissa replied with disappointment. "My Lords and Ladies, we cannot defeat the Archdemon without the help of the Grey Wardens! If it is Orlais's forces we do not wish to employ we can ask them to stay within their own borders, but we need the Grey Warden forces!" She cried out with passion to the rest of the Assembly. She unsheathed her sword and held it aloft. "Highever is with the Grey Wardens!"

Immediately her Alliance all raised their voices and voted "For the Wardens!" There were more cried for 'For the Wardens'. Bann Ceorlic was conspicuous as his vote was absent. Very few voices were heard to support Loghain.

Elissa came close enough that she could say something to him quietly. "The Landsmeet has spoke Loghain. Stand down now, and retire without a fight and be remembered as the Hero you were, not as the man who let his fear of Orlais doom Ferelden further to the Blight." She tried to reason with him.

He glared at her. "Traitors all of you!" He bellowed.

"We are not the Traitors here Loghain." Elissa roared back. "Your fear and pride would doom us all!"

"None of you deserve a say in what happens here. How many of you actually have spilled your blood for this country?" He raged.

Elissa fired back her eyes and personal aura of power was almost a living thing. "I have! As have all of my companions, and a good number of these noblemen behind me. While you plotted the demise of Ferelden, we preserved as much as we could! We saved the Circle when your puppet Uldred started a Blood Mage rebellion! We united Orzammar with the remaining Circle, Templars, and even the Dalish with the troops we have collected from the Bannorn! All with the intent to defeat the Blight. What have you done that makes you think that blood spilt so long ago means more than blood spilt last week?" She was breathing hard, and her hand tightened around her sword hilt as she still had not put it away but she carefully kept it pointed towards the floor.

"How dare you judge me!" He growled at her.

"How dare you judge us!" She fired back. "Call off your men and we'll fight this out." She challenged him.

Elissa was surprised when he looked relieved. "Then let us end this." He said calmly. "I guess you knew it would come to this."

"I had hoped otherwise." She admitted. "You were once one of my own heroes Loghain when I was a child." She told him sadly. "I am sorry it must end this way, but I must do my duty to Ferelden as Cailan asked of me." She said quietly. "He knew he would die there."

Loghain's eyes flashed with understanding. "Do you have a Champion Teyrnessa?" He asked formally.

She nodded and stepped back, sheathing her sword. "I chose Alistair Theirin to be my champion."

Loghain saluted her. "For what it is worth, you have been a worthy opponent." She told him.

"As have you, Teyrnessa." He replied formally. "I would have been honored to fight you." She returned his salute.

She then turned to Alistair who had been prepared for this. "I love you, and please end this quickly." She whispered to him. "He's not in his right mind, but he is still a very good warrior." She told him with some concern.

Alistair pulled her forward and kissed her quick and hard, taking her breath from her. "I will do this so you can be the queen this country needs, sweetheart." He whispered to her. Her speech just then had been inspiring and reminded him why he loved her so much. "I will be by your side always, my love." He promised. She stepped back as did all the Lords and Ladies on the floor, Loghain's guards stepped further back and the two stepped forward into the cleared area.

There was a hushed silence over the assemblage as the two warriors advanced to the center of the grand chamber. There they took their stance, similar and different as if two images on either side of a warped mirror. Both bare-headed and helmetless in the Ferelden tradition of the duel, shields held high just below the eye-line with sword gripped in the opposite hand they faced off, taken one another's measure. There were no taunts, no threats, no words of any kind. Their eyes did what little communicating there was to be had, and they conversed only in the language of rage. Loghain's dark eyes, sunk in bruised sockets, told of a man whose very soul was outraged. He had been struck at his pride and honor, his plans foiled, his motives questioned, his competency impugned and all while obliged to stay back with his sword unsheathed. No more. Now he fixed all that resentment upon the man who dared stand against him, the bastard of an idiot, of a fool. Death was in that gaze, and it promised the revenge of a life of slights would fall with the point of his sword when the time was right.

Alistair returned it in kind. His eyes bright, blazing and wild, they set upon Loghain as tight as his teeth were clenched behind scowling lips. But it was not just him that the younger man saw. There he saw Duncan and Cailan, loyal soldiers and innocent villagers, and above all else he saw all the Grey Wardens who fell at Ostagar. He saw their faces, heard their voices and smelled their blood, and now the man as responsible for deaths as if he had strangled each individual one of them with his bare hands was before him. There was no distraction in this, no scattering of thought or attention, all was focused on one thing and one thing only… Loghain would not leave this chamber alive.

The elder warrior struck first, thrusting out the tip of his blade straight at Alistair's face, though the younger merely raised his shield and deflected it. His strike blocked, Loghain stepped back, waiting for an expected counter-stroke as he had been trained to do many, many years ago. But none came. Alistair just stood, watching, staring, only turning ever so slightly to keep face with his opponent as he moved in an arc beneath the lookers-on. Again Loghain struck, again he was blocked. Time and again this happened, the traitor hero of Ferelden probing and thrusting to no avail, finding Alistair's defense all but impenetrable, able to inflict no more damage than whatever discomfort was caused by the force required the block the blows. This was not right, Loghain fumed. This was not how duels were meant to be fought. From the oldest days it was known that combatants riposted and lunged, trading blows until skill and training showed the better man. There was no honor in this. It was a waste of time - a waste of HIS time - and instead of getting the satisfaction of a bested foe he was left champing at the bit, biting his lip so hard in frustration that the blood it drew ran down his chin.

"Fight back, damn you-"

That was as far as he got before Alistair's shield clanged hard against his breastplate, shoving him back as Starfang slashed hard at him from the side. He was able to block it was his own sword, only for the shield to come flying in from the opposite direction, slamming him in the chest and nearly knocking the wind out of him. Loghain had asked for it and he got it, for now Alistair was a rush of ferocity, seeming to the untrained eye to be flailing with sword and shield alike wildly in reckless abandon, but the veteran knew better. Having thrown the older man off balance Alistair refused to allow him to regain it, the timing of each slash and swing aimed to addle. This was not the tactic of some overexcited angry boy - Loghain had just been outmaneuvered and he knew it. With each block and parry he came closer to presenting the opening that his adversary was hoping for so he could slip his blade into some bit of soft flesh. He had to avoid that at all costs, and he thought he might know of how to do it.

"Is this how a Warden fights? Then se-" He started to taunt.

Whatever Loghain might have had in mind was rudely interrupted by the hard edge of Alistair's shield crashing into the side of his face. Alistair struck the blow and all his weight came with it, following the fallen fighter down to the cold stone floor and striking the head upon it, jolting the much-vaunted strategic mind about inside Loghain's skull. Pinned thus, Alistair removed the upper edge of the shield to Loghain's chest and pressed the tip of Starfang into the mess of blood, flesh and cartilage just beside the elder warrior's nose.

"No. This is how we win." Alistair snarled, barely even winded by the short fight.

Loghain let his head fall back against the flagstones of the hall. "And so the Bastard Prince of Maric Theirin comes to power." He sighed with regret. "I underestimated you. I thought you like Cailan, a child playing at war."

"That was your mistake." Elissa said sadly. "For all the time you spent with him, you never knew him. He took his responsibilities seriously, he just hide his fear behind the bravo." Elissa told him quietly, still her voice carried further than she intended, as Anora came to her father's side. Elissa knew he needed to die, but she would do what she could to preserve what he had done for Ferelden. His mind sickness had robbed him of his honor and she would not see it destroy his legacy as it had his bloodline.

He nodded as he took a deep breath and carefully stood, breathing hard still through his mouth and not his broken nose. "You have a strength I have not seen since Maric, Teyrnessa. You have my respect. I yield." He said as he knelt in front of her.

Elissa bowed her head and leaned down to kiss his forehead. "Thank you for all you have sacrificed for Ferelden. I will do what I can to preserve your legacy as a hero who served Ferelden when in her greatest need." She told him privately. "For what it is worth, I do not take any pleasure in this."

He placed his hand in hers. "As it should be, Your Grace." He told her graciously. He seemed oddly at peace.

Elissa stood straight. "As per this assembly's proclamation I hear by announce the guilt of Teyrn Loghain for Treason, and other crimes against the realm. In light of his previous service he shall be given a quick death, and not a Traitor's Death."

Anora screamed. "No! He was not suppose to die!" She ran forward and threw her arms around his neck and hugged him close to her. "I forbid it."

"You have no say in this, your majesty." The Chamber Lord said loudly. "The Landsmeet has found him guilty, be glad the Teyrnessa is merciful."

"Anora don't." Loghain said quietly. "I cannot be spared. You need to let me go. I love you my daughter, but this is something that must happen." He told her, he bid one of his guards to come forward and hold her back as he faced forward once more.

"He could be made a Grey Warden." Riordan suggested carefully. "We could use his expertise. He is a great warrior and tactician."

"No!" Alistair said defiantly. "He tried to hunt us all down after killing Cailan and Duncan. He'll never be a Warden as long as I draw breath."

Elissa shook her head. "It would be up to Solona, but I would ask that she did not. There are too many people who are in need of justice, and his actions has him drowning in the blood of the innocent. His death is the only atonement I can offer them for his actions."

"Grey wardens are not judges. We take kinslayers, blood mages, traitors, rebels, carta thugs, common bandits; anyone with any skills to be used against the darkspawn is welcome among us." Riordan said with quiet calm acceptance.

Solona stepped forward and poked her finger harshly into his chest. "So we've heard. That may be the way it is in Orlais, but this is Ferelden! We are in need and have available to us a greater sort to protect our people. We have people of character and strength that are worth more than any hardened criminal, because they fight for the right reason, and not selfishly." Riordan looked a little surprised and backed away with his hands up defensively. "I will not conscript a man who would willingly sell others into slavery just so he could alleviate his duties! That is not who the Grey Wardens of Ferelden will be while I am the Commander of the Grey here!"

Loghain dropped his head with a proud smile on his face as he turned from watching Solona face down Riordan. "A Grey Warden worthy of the tales. I never thought I'd see it."

"She is a Cousland. My cousin." Elissa said softly.

He sighed with relief and stood straighter as if the last of a great burden had been lifted from his shoulders. "Then she has the spine needed, it's in the blood...I am ready, my lady Cousland."

Elissa took her sword out to do it herself, her hand shaking with sadness and sorrow when Alistair stepped forward, and placed his hand over hers. "Allow me, Elissa." He asked her softly, he could see this would be hard for her and wanted to make it easier, besides he wanted to avenge Duncan, the other Wardens, and her family for her.

She stepped back and allowed Alistair to step forward to do the execution. Elissa was unsure she could give Loghain a clean death in her current state, Alistair would. "May the Maker bless and keep you Teyrn Loghain, Hero of the River Dane, A Hero of Ferelden." She said kissing his forehead once more and allowing Anora the same grace, before nodding to Alistair.

"Thank you." Loghain whispered before Alistair brought Starfang down in one cleaving blow that killed Loghain instantly. Elissa was close enough that Loghain's blood splattered on her armor and face, she closed her eyes and refused to flinch.

Anora wailed and threw herself over her father's body. Alistair stepped back and looked over at Elissa and saw the sorrow on her face. He thought he'd feel happy in this moment, but instead he felt a little sick and an empty feeling where the anger had been living inside him. Rory stepped up beside him and handed him a cleaning cloth for his sword.

"Clean it." He said hollowly. "You'll have time to reflect later." Alistair nodded and wiped the blood off the blade. The action brought Anora's eyes up to stare with anger and hatred at Alistair.

"I will never marry you." She spat at him, fury twisting her features into a mask of rage and hatred. "I will never make you king!"

Elissa pinched the bridge of her nose, and then gave the woman a look of exasperation. "That was never an option Anora. He is my betrothed, which was explained earlier if you had bothered to listen."

Anora looked up towards Eamon and gave a confused moan. "I don't understand. In order for Alistair to be King he needs to marry me."

"Alistair is the only Calanhad blood heir left. Ferelden has never had anyone but a Theirin on its throne." Eamon stated regally. "I hereby nominate Alistair to be King Ferelden." There were a great many mutterings, even among the Alliance as some checked they had the right person they were supporting.

Solona had reached her limits on her patience. "Alistair is a Grey Warden. He can't be King, he has renounced his birthrights for himself, but not his heirs."

Eamon looked pole axed. "Will you not release him from his oath?"

"No." She said with authority.

"Only the First Warden can release a Grey Warden from his duties not related to injuries, but even he cannot release him from his oaths." Riordan explained to the Landsmeet.

"But there is no one else!" Eamon cried out as his plans fell to ash around him.

"That's not true." Teagan said from beside him. "Cailan named his heir."

The room exploded with sound. The talking was so loud Eamon was able to grab Teagan. "You knew about this?"

"I figured it out this morning." He said calmly removing Eamon's hand from his arm. "Elissa was with Cailan before he died and she is Bryce's heir." Eamon staggered back a step as the truth dawned on him. Alistair's children would still be the heirs, but Alistair himself would never be more than Prince-Consort.

Anora wasn't as quick to figure it out. She stood tall. "So you will be making me queen in my own right."

Elissa didn't answer her instead she presented the Chamber Lord with Cailan's letter. The Chamber Lord nearly fainted when he saw the Seal of the Crown and Cailan's personal seal imposed beside it.

"The Teyrnessa has presented me with a letter from King Cailan, dated The first of Kingsway." The hush over the crowd rivaled that of the duel. The Chamber Lord read the letter out loud.

_To the Lords and Ladies of the Landsmeet,_

_As the eve of battle approaches and I have been informed of the death of the chosen successor, it is my duty to appoint an heir._

_I choose Elissa Cousland as she is the only confirmed heir of Bryce Cousland. If Fergus Cousland is found alive I hereby bypass his right to the throne as at the time of this letter he is missing and believed to be dead._

_I also revoke the rights of nobility to the Howe Family for crimes committed against the Cousland family by Arl Rendon Howe. I also hereby revoke the rights and privileges of the Howe family from the lands and titles they have held for their actions against the crown and the heirs of the bloodline of Ferelden._

_Anora is to be reduced to Dowager Queen. She was a good wife and queen, but she cannot remain Queen of Ferelden without myself as her husband._

_I also acknowledge my brother Alistair Theirin as being of Royal Blood. If he is to have any children they are to be considered second in line to any Elissa should conceive unless otherwise stated by her._

_King Cailan Theirin of Ferelden_.

 

"I thought Grey Wardens were unable to have children. Wouldn't the queen need to marry someone else to be able to produce an heir?" Someone closer to the group asked. This caused more buzzing of gossip.

Riordan stepped forward. "That is not true. While Grey wardens do not actually raise their children normally, it is possible to conceive."

"Regardless Cailan stated she is the rightful heir regardless of who she is with." Stated Teagan. "And I concur, Highever outranks Gwaren."

This time the talking broke out again and Anora stalked towards Elissa. "This was your plan all along; to kill my father and place yourself and your bastard on the throne!"

Elissa gave her a cold stare. "It was Cailan's plan since the moment I turned up at Ostagar. My plan was to save my brother and place him here and take my place at Highever. Your father put himself in the position he was in by following Howe into his madness. I actually happened to respect you father until Ostagar."

Anora raised her hand to slap Elissa, but Solona grabbed her hand. "I wouldn't do that, Your Grace." Anora gasped and backed away.

Eamon finally got the attention of the Lords. "I suggest a vote of confidence. Do we follow Cailan's suggestion, or go with Queen Anora?"

Solona started even though official she had no vote. "The Wardens stand with Elissa Cousland, soon to be Queen Elissa Theirin!"

Even thought she hadn't meant to cause a cascade, it was unanimous every vote came in for Elissa. Anora in her anger and grief refused to take her oath to the new queen-elect. Elissa was understanding, but firm.

"Anora is to be kept in the old royal quarters in Fort Drakon until she has time to come to grips with the death of her father and her change in circumstances. She is to be under heavy guard and allowed to prepare her father for burial _with full honors_ , but otherwise she is to be confided to those quarters." She stated. "I will not end the line of Mac Tir here today."

The Chamber Lord closed the Landsmeet and people come over to congratulate her. She smiled and shook hands with many of the nobles, along with Alistair while the rest of the party moved to wait for them by the doors. Eamon waited until all the others were almost out the door before he and Teagan came over. Teagan was giving Elissa huge amused smile while Eamon gave her a bow of respect and eyed her shrewdly.

"Well played, Your Majesty." He said with respect.

"Thank you Arl Eamon." She said with an easy smile. "I couldn't have done this without your support, even if I was a little underhanded, we both still got what we both wanted."

Eamon would disagree but he wasn't about to say so openly.

 


	15. Chapter 15

 

**12** **th** **of Wintermarch**

**Kinloch Hold Encampment**

Messages were sent out to all the Grey Warden Army Outposts to meet at Kinloch Hold. The borders were ordered open and the Orlisian Army was asked to not come into the country, but to wait at the border if that was their wish. While Elissa didn't share Loghain's paranoia, there was no reason to not take precautions. Especially with the amount of Grey Wardens expected in Ferelden within the next few weeks, the Orlisians forces would not be needed. Understanding Orlisians was a lesson in futility and one thing she and Loghain did share was a lack of trust in them leaving peacefully once all was said and done, unless Ferelden was a wasteland.

They set out the next day with the generals of the Queen's Army to meet up with the Grey Warden army to co-ordinated their response and plans for fighting back against the darkspawn. The actual army itself would be marching slower to reach them so as so not wear them out needlessly. Once everyone was gathered the plan was for the combined Armies to begin the push down into the Southron Hills and the Wilds until the Darkspawn had been defeated. The hope was to keep the Blight sickness of the land confined to the areas already affected.

Riordan had been making a nuisance of himself, trying to second guess Solona at every turn only to be surprised over and over as she not only knew most of the information he was giving her, she also wasn't willing to move aside for him as the senior warden.

"Look Riordan, you are not the most senior warden in Ferelden, alright." Solona finally had enough and she pushed him out of her room at the Spoiled Princess. Elissa had the inn taken over for her and the senior commanders for their War Room. The rooms upstairs were for the party companions and the Queen-Elect, while the downstairs common room had maps, desks and report. The War Room was organized in piles all about the room, and along with some sleeping cots in the back rooms for sleep between meetings if the Commanders and Generals preferred.

Riordan looked surprised. "Who has more years in Ferelden than me?"

Elissa watched with amusement as Solona turned to him with fury in her eyes. "I don't answer to you, Senior Warden." She growled impressively. The fact that her hands were now holding twin fireballs in her palms and she was glaring at him added to the intimidation factor as she stalked closer to him. "You can both shut up, and do as you're told, or fuck off back to Orlais. Your choice."

Riordan placed his hands up and spoke soothingly. "I am only trying to make sure you know all you need to know."

Rory snorted alerting Elissa that Rory was present inside the room out of her sight. "You were trying to insinuate that she was too native to be the Commander and that as the only one with the proper training we should be listening to is you."

Elissa laughed making Riordan notice her, his face clouded over when he saw her. "We will discuss this more when we are alone." He said as he started to turn away.

"You’re wasting your time; I'm the one who taught her everything she knows about being a Grey Warden." Elissa said as she pretended to study her nails. Solona tried not to laugh; she'd taught Elissa that trick after she told her about confronting Eamon.

Riordan stopped and turned to face her abruptly. "You did? You are not a Warden!"

Elissa shrugged. "I'm the granddaughter of a warden, and a Warden Ally who was charged with rebuilding if the worst should come to pass, which it nearly did." She reminded him. "Or did you forget that announcement in the Landsmeet." She turned to her companions. "I am beginning to wonder about people's hearing, they seem to be deaf to news they wish not to hear." She said casually while staring a hole in Riordan's skull.

"Do you know how to stop a Blight?" He asked skeptically. "How to fight a Horde?"

She gave him her best 'you are trying my patience' look as Alistair called it. "A Grey Warden needs to kill the Archdemon, so the soul of the Old God and the Warden destroy each other." She shrugged. "I didn't need to be told that, it was obvious once I knew what went into the blood rite to make a Warden."

Riordan looked so surprised and his face went so white that Elissa honestly thought he would faint. "How did you know that?"

"The senior Warden in Ferelden told us when he handed over the drafts of blood rite potion for us to use to make more wardens."

"So you know we will need to be prepared to have one of us with each group." He said.

"No." Solona said. "I will make my own plans and if you can't be bothered to follow orders you are free to leave and join your own command." She too looked completely unimpressed with his tactics.

"Your plan is actually flawed." Rory pointed out. "We have been working as an elite team for months, working our tactics around each other to the point where Alistair and Elissa doesn't even need to warn the mages when they plan to use their templar abilities. Breaking us apart into more than two teams would be make all that training worthless and would under mind our strength in battle. Not to mention we have already killed a High Dragon together."

Elissa just dismissed him entirely and came walked up to Solona. "I just got word from Cara, she sent down all the healing, lyrium and hand bombs she has been able to produce. They arrived be here this afternoon and will need to be distributed in the morning to each command."

"You have a base of operations?" Riordan asked, once more surprised by their level of organization.

"The senior warden has been keeping it, in secret for us." Solona said, not offering more. She too was beginning to question Riordan's motives. "As he is too senior to move quickly he is not capable of being Commander." At that everyone snorted. Avernus's movements were not why he would never be considered as Commander, but Riordan didn't need to know that. And what Solona said was true, he couldn't move fast enough to be on the battlefield.

He seemed to figure that out that they would not trust him as they closed ranks around her. It was only then that he noticed that, with the exception of Jowan and Cara who was absent, all the senior Wardens of Ferelden were looking at him questioningly. He wasn't sure when Zevran had snuck up behind him, or when Alistair arrived as they both had come in with Elissa. He held up his hands. "I am sorry." He said softly. "I am used to things being done differently. You all are doing an exceptional job. The men I normally serve with are much rougher and coarse, less military." He admitted somewhat sheepishly.

"So questioning authority is normal in the Wardens of Orlais?" Solona asked doubtfully.

Riordan hesitated and once again looked rather sheepishly at Solona. "That also was not my intent. In Orlais the Wardens play their own version of The Game."

Solona rolled her eyes. "And they wonder why everyone distrusts them. Maybe Loghain was right to keep them out." She said harshly before turning her back dismissively.

"I will submit myself to your authority if you'll have me Commander." He said quietly. "I will not question you again."

She gave him a curt nod. "One more incident and I will send you back to your old command. Is that understood?"

He responded with his forearms crossed over his chest and a slight bow. "Yes Commander."

"I have another missive for you, from our Legion Wardens." Elissa said handing over the sealed letter.

Solona opened the letter and cursed a blue-streak in a language Elissa didn't know. "The Archdemon has left the Deep Roads." She spat.

She handed the letter to Rory who blanched but nodded firmly. "This isn't good."

Elissa shivered and took a deep breath. "Where is it headed?"

"Denerim." Solona said with tears in her eyes. "She broke through at Ostagar and headed straight for Denerim. The message is a day and a half old."

Elissa turned to Rory. "What does that mean?" She knew but she was hoping she was wrong.

"It means that even at forced march come morning we won't get there before them." He told her sorrowfully. "At best we can get there half a day after."

She looked to Solona. "My Army marches at dawn and we'll turn the rest of my troops when we reach them."

Solona nodded curtly. "As does ours, we can't wait for the other Wardens." She ordered regretfully and she turned and left the room quickly.

  


Solona had just entered her room when she noticed Morrigan standing by her fire. The witch looked nervous and self-assured at the same time. "You'd best get some rest Morrigan we're moving out at dawn." She told her wearily.

"I am aware. However I am here to tell you why Flemeth sent me with you. It is time, my friend." She said it almost as if it was a question. Solona looked up at the woman. In the past month she'd forgotten about looking in to why Morrigan insisted she come along after Lothering. She'd been so quiet since being given the grimoire that she'd half-forgotten there was anything else to look into.

"Of course we are friends Morrigan. What did you need to tell me?" She asked as she sat heavily onto her bed and began to pull her boots off.

"A ritual that will make sure the Grey Warden who kills the Archdemon does not die. Instead the soul of the Old God would enter a vessel that I would prepare. It would be captured and cleansed of the taint." She explained quickly. "I don't know what purpose Flemeth would have for such a vessel, so I would ask that we destroy her immediately after we kill the Archdemon."

Solona dropped her head into her hands and rested her elbows on her knees. It took her a long few minutes to think on that. "What does the ritual need?"

"I need to conceive a child of a young Grey Warden; the child must carry the taint in order to capture the Old God's soul like a trap." Morrigan said carefully. “Afterward I would disappear and hide the child from Flemeth or any other’s that would seek the child.” She was aware of the attachments most of the group had made already, so what she was suggesting was going to cause friction among the couples.

Solona's head snapped up and she stared at Morrigan, her gaze accusatory. "Is that why you've been cozying up to Zevran?"

Morrigan looked away and nodded. "I like his company well enough, when he isn't speaking. The ritual would be more powerful if the child was all human however. I came to you because you seem to know Jowan best."

Solona got up without a word and gathered the other males Grey Wardens and Elissa since she couldn't gather Alistair without her knowing. Everyone was in varies states of undress and gathered in her room. Jowan, Alistair, Rory and Zevran were standing with Elissa across from Solona and Morrigan.

"Morrigan knows a way to defeat the Archdemon and not sacrifice one of us to do so." Solona said, her eyes dark with fury. "It involves the soul of the Archdemon being moved into an unborn child." She turned to Jowan. "She has suggested you be the father of this child."

Jowan instantly backed away looking completely terrified. "No I will not be a part of that! I'd rather take the final blow than do this."

Solona nodded and gave him an understanding smile. Of all of them Jowan would be the one to understand that soul magic was as forbidden as blood magic and in ways much more dangerous. There was a reason it was believed the Grey Warden who killed the Archdemon had its soul destroyed rather than past through the Fade. "This would be for volunteers only Jowan, and I didn't expect you to do this against your will, and I will not order it of anyone. I am letting you all know the possibility exists, that is all."

He looked at her with disgust. "But you'll ask them?" He waved his hand at the others. His tone laced with pure venom. "Are you going to make sure they know the cost?"

Solona nodded in defeat. "I am going to make it very clear. Whoever volunteers is going to have to sleep with Morrigan and create a child, that child is going to have the soul of the Archdemon infused with it before it has a chance to create its own. It will no longer have the taint, but we don't know the cost of it." He snorted with disgust before she continued. "Soul magics are very unpredictable and could end up destroying Morrigan, the child and possibly the father instead of the Grey Warden who takes the blow."

"You are making it sound worse than it is." Morrigan said calmly. "The child will be as any other, but will possess the ancient knowledge of the Old God in a clean body. The soul will be clean by the re-birth. My mother has spent centuries making sure this ritual will work." She explained. "And the cost is saving the life of one of you, and the soul of the Warden who does kill the beast. Surely this chance is worth any risk to save your life and possibly your soul." She pointed out.

Rory and Alistair both stepped back as well wanting nothing to do with this. "I won't be part of killing a child's soul, even if it hasn't formed yet. I might have blood on my hands, but I can honestly say I have never stooped so low as to kill a child in cold blood, especially my own." Alistair spat at her and he turned and left the room, Jowan and Rory quickly followed with Elissa close behind.

Solona shrugged. "I am sorry Morrigan, but that is their answers."

Morrigan's eyes narrowed. "You are all fools. You could have presented that much better, I am trying to save your life!"

Solona looked at her sadly. "Grey Wardens kill Archdemons and sacrifice their lives and souls doing it. That is the cost of the blood magic we perform." She said, feeling heavy and defeated. "Please leave me Morrigan, tomorrow will be bad enough without this hanging over my head too."

Morrigan left in a huff intending to leave the group but as she entered her room she found Zevran standing by her fireplace. "I am not the most desirable of donors but I am better than none, yes?" He asked her quiet and with deadly seriousness.

"An all human child would be preferable, but an elf-blood would be sufficient." She admitted.

He held out a glass on Antiva Brandy. "Then shall we keep this little transaction to ourselves?"

Morrigan gave him a small smile, one thing she did like about the elf was his openness to dirty options to complete the deeds that needed to be done. "I think that would be best for now. I will need to be near the final battle for the Soul to enter me instead, if they knew..."

He walked over to her after placing his empty glass on the mantle and took down her hair, running his hand through it and pulling it down past her shoulders. "They would prevent you coming along, which would make this ritual of your useless."

Morrigan shivered as he ran his fingers over her neck. With a flick of his wrists he could break her neck; she'd never see it coming. Instead he trailed them down her throat, past her shoulders and down to her bared skin between her breasts. "I have a few potions we will need to ingest first."

He gave her a cocky grin, "But of course, proceed." He stepped back and watched her as she went to her bag and brought back two potions.

He took his and uncorked it, a quick sniff and he could tell it wasn't any poison he'd ever smelled before. He raised the bottle as if to give a toast. "To the defeat of the Archdemon."

Morrigan nodded, "To the defeat of the Archdemon." She echoed as they drank the potions together.

  


Rory was unusually quiet, so Solona followed him down to the empty kitchen. He was standing by the fireplace staring into the fire. "Rory, are you alright?" She asked, she was concerned and she knew after their night in Denerim he wouldn't come to her, she'd have to go to him.

"Go to bed Solona."He said with a quiet seriousness she had not heard from him except in extreme circumstances.

She walked over to him and placed her hand on his lower back and her other on his arm pulled him around gently. "Please tell me, what's wrong?"

His eyes as he looked at her were hollow. The pupils blown open so his eyes appeared black, flat and lifeless. "In three days I'll be dead, and with me my family name, just like Elissa, and several other noble families."

"No!" She replied. "It could be any of us!" She told him and shook him to pull him around.

"Maybe the price isn't too high." He said softly and he cupped her cheek looking into her eyes. "If it would keep you safe at least."

"She wouldn't allow the child to see the father." Solona told him, she saw a flash of pain in his eyes. She knew he wanted a family and now it was more important than ever that he have one. "Part of the deal would be she disappears with the baby because Flemeth wants the child." She pulled him into an embrace tightly as she explained the restrictions Morrigan wanted. "I would never have allowed her to use you that way." She whispered harshly as she tried to hold back her own tears. "I knew Alistair and Jowan would say no outright, I was sure you'd say no, and she needed a human."

Rory pulled her close breathing deeply of the scent in her hair. "I can't risk losing you Sole." He said brokenly.

"I won't lose any of you." She promised. "I will keep Riordan near me and send him to make the final blow." She said holding him tightly, her nails biting into his skin through the fabric. The was the jolt Rory needed to pull him out of the depths his fear and hopelessness had plunged him into.

"So we protect him, so he can die for us?" Rory asked her blinking with surprise at the ruthlessness of her plan.

"He's been a warden for over twenty years. He doesn't have as much time as the rest of us, and I need all of you once we are done with the Archdemon. We'll still have to re-build and secure the country from the darkspawn for months and maybe years to come." She explained while still holding him as tightly as she could. "And I'll gladly make him do it to save you." She whispered so softly she didn't know if she wanted him to hear it or not.

He did hear her. His feelings for her sent both a thrill and joy through him, knowing she at least cared enough that she would do almost anything to save him, and yet the pain of knowing she didn't love him the way he knew he was feeling for her. "Thank you Sole. I didn't realize how much I needed y-this right now." He sighed into the ear by his mouth.

She pulled back just enough that she could see his eyes. They were still black but now not from despair, but desire. She grabbed the back of his neck and kissed him desperately. It was against every rule she lived her life by, and she knew one day soon she'd be ripped away from him, but right now, tonight, she was his and no one else's. "Take me to bed Rory, please." She begged him.

Rory looked torn, but the desire, and not quite love, but deep affection he saw there was enough. Isabella's warning about mages being conditioned to not fall in love, and Wynne's warning about what happens to mages that do within the Circle had tempered his expectations. What he saw in her eyes was more than he'd ever expected to see aimed at him. He picked her up bridal style and carried her up the back stairs to her room, she opened the door and then he kicked it closed behind him.

  


Alistair was laying behind Elissa running his hand over her back trying to calm her, only it wasn't working because like her, he was angry. Morrigan's offer had been such a tempting way out. None of them would have to die, insurance against death for whoever had to make the final blow. Alistair was not a fool, he knew the chances of them bringing down the Archdemon while on the battlefield with thousands of darkspawn and the generals, was slim to none. The only way that was happening was with its wings crippled. He had some ideas on that based on what he'd seen Sole and other mages could do when they were allowed to use their full potential.

He was already making his plans for how to direct the group, knowing Rory would be able to fine tune them before reaching Denerim. Duncan had him read several books on dragon hunting when he had first joined, some of it had stayed with him, other parts, like how to lure one in didn't apply to Archdemons, and so he'd ignored them somewhat.

Elissa turned slowly and wrapped her arms around him tightly. "Promise me that no matter what you, Sole and Rory don't take that blow." She cried softly, her tears against his chest were hot but cooling in the cold night air quickly, even with the fire blazing.

"I can't make a promise for Rory, but I can promise Sole won't be the one." He didn't make the promise of not taking the blow himself, he wouldn't lie to her, but if the choice came down to him or one of the others, he'd take it to ensure that she and Ferelden lived and survived the Blight.

In her misery she didn't notice his admission; she cried harder knowing she was sending her best friend off to die once more. "I wish I could be of more use. I'm not going to be able to save any of you."

Alistair sighed. "You'll be with us Elissa; I wouldn't be able to fight if I couldn't see you nearby." He said honestly. "You are a warrior and you deserve to fight at our side as you have until now."

She lifted her head and kissed him hard and desperately. "I love you Ali. So very much!" She told him fiercely as her short nails scratched at his shoulders deeply in her strong grip, her breathing was quick and broken by half sobs as she tried so hard to keep from breaking down.

Alistair rolled her so she was under him, his hands under her back griping her shoulder forcing her to arch her back up. She lifted her golden-green eyes to look into his amber ones. "I love you too 'Lis. More than I ever thought possible, you are going to be my wife as soon as we get rid of this thing, and _nobody_ , and _nothing_ to going to stop us. _Do you hear me_?" He started off talking lovingly but near the end he sounded demanding and forceful.

Elissa's breath caught as a wave of desire run through her, she nodded her head speechlessly. "Good." Was all Alistair said before he hauled her up and kissed her as hard as he dared and was thankful those two days of abstinence were over.

His weight was leaning on his forearms but he pulled her arms down so he could thread his fingers through hers and push them down beside her head. "We're one." He said softly as he pushed into her slowly. This here, right now wasn't about sex, or needing to feel something physical. This was about making their connection to one another emotionally stronger.

Elissa could only stare into his eyes, the feelings of fear, duty and every other emotional overwhelming feeling she'd had until a few minutes ago disappeared as she was drawn into his glaze. She could see the flecks of brown and honey gold playing in the flickering light and Maker help her but his determined but gentle look was making her quiver. She had never felt him take such care with her, yet still be this assertive. She could almost feel all her negative emotions that had nothing to do with the two of them sliding away into the void, leaving just Elissa and Alistair. No Kings and Queens, no prophecy, and no certain death for someone she loved only days away.

Alistair could feel her body relaxing into their embrace, his hands tightened around hers for a moment as he pushed further into her, fully seated inside her he paused to kiss her gently. "Feel this 'Lis, just us." He flexed his hips to cause friction and she gasped.

"I do feel it." She whispered. And she did the emotions she was feeling were starting deep in her chest not where their bodies connected.

Alistair lowered his head so their foreheads touched in a simple touch that brought him such contentment. Six months ago he'd hoped for a life where love might be possible but was likely a fade dream, ripped away by the dawn of his reality, which was it was frowned upon for Wardens to get married, and with a Blight on the horizon it was unlikely he would survive long enough to meet anyone. Now here he was. Completely in love with the woman under him. She challenged him, loved him for who he was. No one had ever loved him more, nor could.

Elissa closed her eyes as their forehead came together with a gentle resting pressure. She pressed her legs along his rather than wrapping them around him. Their bodies touching as much skin as physically possible. "Keep your eyes open." He whispered to her making her opened them. He was much too close to focus on any feature clearly. He pulled back his head as he slowly shifted his hips up and then sank back into her. "I never had a home until you let me into your heart 'Lis." He told her with a voice that made her eyes roll up with pleasure and contentment.

"Ali." She was quickly losing focus with all the emotion and feelings his words were stirring up inside her. "You are all I have ever wanted. You are what I have been looking for my whole life." She lifted her head just enough to brush her lips against his.

Alistair kept the pace slow and drawn out. Each of them taking turns moaning each other's names and little expressions on love to one another. She drew her legs up at some point and drew him further inside her, that made Alistair's thrusts increase in speed, but only a little, the deep emotional connection kept them both sustained for quite a while.

Elissa could feel her impending orgasm, but the pace was keeping it at bay. "Ali please, I need you to move a little faster, harder, please." She moaned with an almost drugged feeling rushing through her. She was on such an emotional overload that her limbs felt like she would be floating in midair if not for Alistair's weight on top of her.

Alistair gave her an unsteady puff of air before he pushed down on their joined hands once more and began to move his hips with an urgency that had been absent until now. He added an extra lift of his hips as they were fully joined making his pelvis rub at her exposed clit. The waves of pleasure were hitting each other causing little tsunamis of heat to wash over and through her.

Alistair was no better off. He felt as if he was drowning in her eyes as she moved his body the way he knew would have her plunging over the edge. He was so lost in her expression that his own release just moments before hers caught him off-guard.

She watched in awe as his head was thrown back and his eyes finally closed. The muscles in his neck strained made her want to bite him, and his throaty groan made her arch up into him as her own precipice was reached and she crashed into him.

When he finished emptying himself into her, he felt as if all his muscles had melted and she lowered himself on to her. His weight crushing down on her was one of the few things she loved. He never made a huge deal about staying bury inside her and lowering his weight onto her after she told him how much she loved it.

She buried her head into his shoulder and grasped his shoulders pulling him even closer when she released her hands. She knew she was crying and tried to hide them so Alistair would get the wrong idea. She had never in all her life felt as loved and protected as she did at this very moment, with her lover buried inside her. They were as close as two people could be and it still didn't feel close enough.

When Alistair felt her tears on his shoulder he tried to lift himself only to have her use her considerable strength to keep him where he was. "No please don't move. This is so perfect, please don't end it."

He shifted himself so he could wipe her eyes and see her face. "What's wrong?" He asked concerned he'd hurt her somehow.

She laughed and smiled at him. "I'm just happy. I know I shouldn't be but-"

He smiled down on her. "As am I, my love. Now and forever, I will love you 'Lis." He kissed her softly this time. They stayed that way for several minutes before Alistair shifted off of her and cuddled her tightly to him. "Sleep my love, tomorrow is going to be a long day." He told her with the gentlest of whispers, but Elissa had already slipped into a peaceful, contented sleep.

  


  


With the potions drunk and the sex concluded Morrigan had expected Zevran to leave immediately. When he didn't, she found herself surprised with herself when she didn't object to his tender caring for her body afterwards. The sex had been more pleasurable than it had needed to be. He'd been careful to make sure the experience was good for both of them.

She'd never admit it, but she had been dreading this since her mother had saved the two wardens, especially when Alistair had been the only male warden available. It had colored her view of him. She'd eased off once he was no longer her only option for this, and she wasn't likely to lose her life for suggesting the ritual. She had no doubts what Elissa's response would have been if she'd suggested she sleep with Alistair, and have his first-born child instead of Elissa herself.

Her mother had made an off-handed comment about the child being more powerful had the child be an elf, but she'd have to do as the mother since she couldn't have an Elven daughter. That was what had made her hesitant to use Zevran over the others. She hardly knew Jowan so he had been her first choice after Zevran, and she had hoped he would volunteer. His reaction to the ritual had surprised her. He'd been a blood mage; surely he'd have been willing to do this to save his friend after everything she'd done to save him. But no, Solona had painted such a black picture of the outcome she was surprised Zevran had come to her at all.

Still she felt the magic in her body start to build, which meant the child was about to implant itself in her womb. The heat was stronger than she'd expected and she doubled over in pain. Zevran placed his cool hand over her belly and whispered to her. "Relax; tightening the muscles will increase the pain." He kissed the back on her neck and smoothed her hair back and away from her ear. He stayed with her until morning, helping to sooth her as the pain came and went in ever decreasing waves until they slept.

He was leaving her room when Rory was leaving Solona's. Rory glanced at Morrigan's door and back at Zevran. "Did it work?" He whispered, not wanting anyone else to hear them.

"Yes." Zevran said mildly. "She is now pregnant."

Rory looked relieved. "I was going to talk to her in camp if you hadn't." He said looking back at the closed door of Solona's room. "I can't risk--"

Zevran held up his hand to stop him. "Prophecies need help to come to fruition. You, Morrigan, Leliana and myself all have additional parts to play I believe." Like most of the party members he knew of the prophecy but didn't know the contents beyond the eight needed included the three leaders.

Rory nodded and chuckled bitterly. "The bit players."

"I prefer _'the supporting cast_ '." He answered with a chuckle.

Rory sighed sadly as he glanced once more at Solona's door. "Yeah, just a supporting cast member, not the lead." He said morosely and he turned to open the door of the room the two were suppose to be sharing only to find Leliana sitting on Rory's bed putting her boots on.

She looked up and smiled. "I overheard enough to know I needed to move out of Morrigan's room for the night. Each of us supporters need to do our part, yes?" The three made pact not to tell Elissa and Solona that Zevran had completed the Dark Ritual. They also agreed to make sure Riordan, Zevran or Rory took the final blow, just in case the ritual wasn't enough.

  


**18** **th** **of Wintermarch**

**The Gates of Denerim**

It took three day to get within sight of Denerim, the Army Generals were not idle, they had their plans, and their orders. Parts of the city were burning. With only two hours of daylight left Elissa made the decision to attack anyway. She and the combined Allies Army Generals agreed. As Bhelen was the most experienced commander on the field he was in charge overall of the regular Allies but Solona and Elissa would be directing the Mages and Templars along with a few elite troops.

Elissa took her place in front of the army on her horse. She had been quiet all evening trying to decide what to say to her troops. She had a basic Idea but most of this was going to be from the hip and she hoped she didn't make a mess of it.

She reared her horse up to gather the attention of all the commands in from on her.

"Fereldens! Allies!" She raised her sword over her head. The answering roar was enough to make her nerves disappear; suddenly she knew what she needed to say. She waited for the roaring to stop.

"We are a diverse group! But we have strengths untold! We have all we need to defeat our enemy! We have magic, Templars, Wardens, Warriors, Rogues, Dwarves, and Elves! We have it all, and we have something the darkspawn will never have! We have freewill! We have freedom! And there is nothing more dangerous than a man whose freedom is threatened!" The roar was louder from the Royal Army and the mages than the Templars and the Dwarves but she could see they were cheering as well.

"I would rather fight with this army than any other army in Thedas! Because we don't fight for duty, or oath! We fight for our homes! Our lives! Our freedom! They might hold our city now but come morning I know we will be victorious! When that sun rises the Darkspawn will be dead, and we will still be free and still be FERELDEN!" The roaring was louder this time as she looked over the army.

"Fereldens are you with me!" She cried raising her sword once more. The army cried out their approval.

"Warriors of Orzammar are you with me!" They added their approval with Bhelen in the front yelling loudest.

"Mages, Templars are you with me!" The roar was becoming overwhelming.

"Elves, Wardens will you fight with us!" Now all were yelling as loudly as possible and the Queen rose in her stirrups at stand in the saddle and threw her sword arm as high as she could.

"Today is the day we will make history! FOR FERELDEN!" The answering roar was so powerful Elissa was almost forced to sit back down in her saddle. She galloped her horse back so she was beside Alistair. The army was now following their commanders and Elissa fell into her role slightly ahead of Solona and the rest of the Wardens.

The battle itself was easy to break into three acts. Taking the inner walls was actually not as hard as Elissa had imagined. By the time they moved into the city proper the darkspawn were running deeper into the city or laying dead. The majority of the darkspawn horde was not actually inside Denerim.

From the looks of the city the majority of the Horde was still either underground or so far south they were out of range of both Alistair and Riordan's sensing range and the scouts advanced sight. Which was good because on the way there several times Alistair was sure they were going to come face-to-face with parts of the Horde only for them to finally realize he was sensing them a distance underground, meaning the shallower Deep Roads under Ferelden were filling with Darkspawn, a thought that terrified Elissa to a large degree and made Bhelen worry about Orzammar if they did defeat the Archdemon. His army would have to march quickly back home to force the fleeing Horde to go around the tunnels leading to Orzammar.

The main gates of the city were broken and the majority of the fires seemed to be within the outer walled portion of the city. The main branch of the Dwarven army went in first as they had the most experience with darkspawn; they were supported by the mages and the Wardens.

A portion of the armies, mostly older warriors were left to hold and protect the outer bailey while the others pushed on to find the Darkspawn Generals. Scouts had placed them both in the Alienage and the Market district, trying to inflict the most damage with both a high concentration of emissaries and ogres. Solona ordered the Templars to help in the market district where the emissaries were concentrated, while she had the elves head to the Alienage ahead of their group, trying to keep the Horde from causing as much death as possible and to get the locals to move to safer areas or help them organize a defense.

The Market district battle had been going well. Solona, Morrigan, Jowan, Cara and Wynne were the only mages in the area and she was making an effort for them to stay in the back of the Templars so they wouldn't be caught in any smite zones. Cara and Jowan had been busy learning some healing and Jowan was finally showing some serious ability on that front. Being out of the Circle was doing wonders for his abilities with the Fade. Together with Wynne they were keeping the Templars on their feet and untainted. Things had been going too well, it was near the end of the battle that Solona heard a familiar voice cry out "Malificar!" The Templar turned and ran Jowan through with his sword.

Solona screamed and ran forward; her whole body lit with healing magic that she poured into Jowan as Cullen began to yank the sword clear. Once he had he began to call a smite down on her. Rory was close enough that he shield bashed him to the ground before he could draw too much power, but Solona's healing spell was weakened and she fell to the ground nearly completely drained of mana.

"Get him out of here." Rory yelled at a nearby Templar who seemed at a loss of what to do. He came forward and dragged Cullen back. Rory dropped down and took a lyrium potion out of Solona's belt and handed it to her while Wynne poured her own into Jowan.

Jowan looked up at Solona and whispered. "I'm sorry." He looked away ashamed but before Solona could understand what he was apologizing for she felt the sickening feeling of blood magic starting to form and Jowan's wounds closed up.

Solona just gave him a sad smile. "Just this once, I'll forgive you." She said just loud enough for him to hear and she helped him get up. Wynne was looking torn. Solona sighed. "Whatever is necessary until the city is saved Wynne, just no more if possible please Jowan." She begged him. "Especially in the middle of the Templars."

He nodded and stood quietly, making no effort to go to the wounded to heal. He let the walking wounded come to him. Now that the fighting was nearly over more of the Templars were in need of healing and Solona sounded for the mages to join them. The camps had taught all the mages very basic healing spells but it was only Solona and Wynne who were the ones who could heal the worst of the wounded since Anders was still locked up in the Circle Tower. As a result several Templars died before they could get to them. The last she got to was Greagoir himself.

"We seem to be doing well." He wheezed as she began to cast some deep healing. She was going to need another lyrium potion after this.

"We would be in better place had Cullen not smited me and tried to kill Jowan." She said curtly. "What the fuck is he doing here?"

Greagoir winced at the rough treatment she'd accidentally given him as she poked the wound to make sure the magic got to where it was needed most. "You needed every able body. I thought he would be fine in a group. I didn't know Jowan would be here."

Solona sighed and finished her spell and dropped hard on her butt beside him. She took several deep breaths. "Cullen's lucky Jowan lived. Otherwise I'd have run him through myself."

Greagoir looked at her daggers which had seen some battle so far, Solona wasn't carrying staff so it was hard to distinguish her from another warrior except for the occasional fireball coming from the blades. "Where did you learn those blade skills, surely not in the past few months alone?"

She gave him a tired shake of her head. "Warden Secrets."

Rory suddenly dropped down beside her and handed her another lyrium potion and a water skin. "Elissa is reaming him out and sending him back to the bailey to help hold the gate."

Solona chuckled and gratefully drank the potion. As the mineral was absorbed into her system she felt that tattle-tale feeling of energy surge through her fingertips and spark blue. Her eyes too were beginning to take on a slight blue glow. "We need to keep moving."

Rory nodded. "A few more minutes and then we'll move. The dwarves and part of the Army have move through to the main city. We'll clear that Alienage with the mages and elves before we move up and leave the elves behind to hold the alienage. Loghain was right about it being hard to defend but the elves will be able to do it while we press on."

She stood up and looked at the group and did a quick count, she had been keeping tabs on Riordan since they had approached the city but the rogue had not been under her watchful eye form the moment Jowan got stabbed. Now he was nowhere to be found.

She quickly turned hoping he'd just gotten behind her but as she scanned the remaining fighters she knew he was gone. "Where is Riordan?"

Rory's head snapped up and he too quickly scanned the group before swearing a blue streak that had Solona impressed and Greagoir blushing. "He must have slipped away."

"Why would he do that?" Greagoir asked somewhat concerned.

Solona snorted and shook her head. "He knows we don't trust him, he's likely playing hero to try and make us see he's valuable."

The group headed for the alienage. There it was going to be easier and harder. The elves had managed to blockade half the alienage off from the forces, but there were four ogres behind the gate.

"Mages concentrate firepower on the ogres as they break the gate. Dalish fire at the smaller darkspawn." Solona's orders came ringing through the ranks. The spells did the damage and the group then pressed forward to deal out lots of damage to the darkspawn but not the city itself.

They were well into the main portion of the city now pushing towards the Fort where the Archdemon had seemed to perch itself to overlook the battle. Elissa had been surprised. She'd have thought the thing would have been more involved. Once they had killed both generals it was obvious that the rest of the darkspawn did not have a chain of command, there were no officers to take point and rally the troops, each band had a leader but that leader couldn't take a larger group and make them work together.

The battle turned into a street by street battle for supremacy that the allied forces were winning handily. The group of nearly forty mages, whom all could heal were making a huge difference. Many would have died had it not been for them. The Templars too were doing better than Elissa had expected and were all taking orders from Solona without complaint. Rory was sticking to her side, feeding her tactical analysis, lyrium and suggestions so Elissa was just doing her part to keep fighting. Greagoir had caught her smiting an emissary earlier in the battle and had given her a look then shook his head and kept fighting. Alistair of course was right beside her the two looking like dark angels of death in their black armor dripping in darkspawn blood.

They were nearing Fort Darken when the Archdemon suddenly launched itself into the air. Even from a distance it was easy to see that there was a figure on its back. Elissa watched with dread as the Archdemon did several maneuvers that helped dislodge the rider and had him slide off the back but managed to rip the membrane of one of the wings to shreds with his daggers before the figure fell the height of the highest tower of the fortress. The Archdemon crashed onto the tower as the figure fell and hit the ground nearby.

Elissa knew who it was by the Grey Warden armor it was wearing. Riordan was the only one missing. Solona kneeled down beside him after closing his eyes. "Stupid fool." She hissed.

"Nothing's changed Sole; we still need to fight the dragon, at least now it's grounded." Rory said, trying to reassure her.

"That's half the battle." Alistair said softly. "It ends here today. That dragon can't retreat. It has to fight, and the Blight will be over."

Solona looked up at Rory with anguish. "I don't know what to do now." She threw herself into his arms. Elissa was suddenly reminded once again that Solona was only eighteen and she only twenty, she too suddenly felt overwhelmed by the thought one of them would have to give their very soul for Ferelden and it couldn't be her. It took a few more seconds for Riordan's death to sink in and the consequences of that death. She looked straight at Rory and her own eyes filled with tears.

He held Solona tightly and kissed her softly. "Nothing has changed." He said once more. "We knew this months ago."

She nodded and turned harshly towards Riordan's body and gave it a mighty kick before she gripped her daggers tightly and stared to stalk towards the doors of the fortress.

Elissa was walking quietly behind. Rory seemed to be focused on keeping up with Solona. Alistair seemed more determined as well. Both their reactions made Elissa's blood freeze. They were both planning to make the final blow and from Solona's face she knew it too.

The fight outside the fortress and the first several floors were easy going. The darkspawn hadn't actually held the building long. And the old original palace was not yet breached, which meant the area where Anora was housed was still darkspawn free. Solona had the Templars stop and hold the lower levels while the mages and elite dwarven warriors continued to climb with the warden group.

Reaching the roof was both a relief and a very scary place for Elissa. Alistair and everyone else turned to her. "This is as far as you go my love." Alistair said to her. "You can't go out onto the roof with us."

Rory stepped forward and held her tightly. "I love you 'Lissa." He said and gave her a brotherly kiss on her forehead. "Stay safe and be happy my sister." She held him and cried softly.

"Please be careful." She whispered as she returned his kiss on the cheek. "Keep them safe too."

Rory nodded. "I'll keep them safe." He vowed. Elissa knew he wasn't coming back.

Solona too gave her a hug and kiss with her own impossible promises, followed by each of the party. Leliana gave her a kiss and a lovely smile before she stepped back, Sten gave her a pat on the back and a stern nod, with a simple 'Kadan'. Shale gave her a smile and a simple, 'It must stay safe' to which Elissa gave a short nod. Cara and Jowan both had given her a simple hug and a fond wave. Oghren groped her ass while hugging her, Elissa wasn't sure if it was intentional or not, but Alistair took the opportunity to remove his hands forcefully. Wynne was much more demure and grandmotherly and gave her a quick hug and kiss to the forehead.

Morrigan went next and was quiet but she gave Elissa a short hug and stepped back unable to look into her eyes. Zevran walked up and hugged her tightly and whispered in her ear. "We did the ritual, be brave." Elissa gasped and nodded, hope renewed in her heart that she might see them all again. She reached out and took Morrigan's hand once more and gave it a grateful squeeze and a nods while her eyes filled with tears of relief. Morrigan managed a weak bashful smile but nodded her head in acknowledgment of her sincere thank you.

Alistair came forward and gave her a kiss worthy of being considered the most romantic to date and certainly the most emotional one. She could feel a very real burst of love in her chest that seemed to come from him and she willed herself to return the feeling, his response to her seemed to suggest he did feel it. It was overwhelming and seemed to stop time itself and go so quickly that it was over in seconds. There felt like a connection had been made, her heart now in perfect sync with his. There was a small flicker of magic that sparked between the two unnoticed by all as it jumped between their chest crushed together. She held him a breath longer and then let him go. The rest of the group was either turned away or watching with amused looks and warm smiles.

Alistair looked at them and beat his sword against his shield. "Let's do this Commander!"

Solona took a deep calming breath and steeled her expression. "Let's do this! For Ferelden!" She cried and she pushed the door open and charged out with all the others right behind her into the wide open space of the roof of the fortress.

She watched them go through before she turned to the guard behind her. "Get me a bow."

"Yes, your majesty." He snapped as she rushed to get her a bow and quiver. While he was gone Elissa took up position by the arrow slit by the door. She watched as the party took up positions.

Jowan and Cara stood much farther back than the others and the two dogs were acting as guard for Wynne who was closer. Alistair, Rory, Shale, Oghren and Sten had all moved in front of Solona within a few yards using their shields and body mass to give her additional coverage as she began to cast battle spells. Leliana and Zevran were running towards the closest ballista and redirecting it at the Archdemon.

Elite Dwarf and the trained Battle Mages joined them on the roof from the other towers, the lesser experienced mages lined the edges looking for chances to cast barrier, healing spells and the occasional arcane bolt. Several Royal Army warriors and a group of archers moved to join them and one officer handed a bow and quiver to Elissa. She joined them by the door with orders to retreat if needed.

The battle was bloody and messy. Seeing what Zevran and Leliana were doing Elissa ordered several men to man the other two ballista with orders to wait for a clear shot before firing. The Archdemon was fighting with all its weapons. Sten was already out of the battle off to the side where he had been dragged as was Oghren who was already being patched up by one of the healers; he looked ready to rejoin the battle and jumped back into the fray. Even from her vantage point Elissa could see Sten's leg was broken by the angle it was being bent at. Shale had even been bashed so hard she'd slide a good twenty-five feet from where she had been standing by the Archdemon's tail.

The arrows the archers were firing were not very effective. Elissa ordered them to stop firing when they accidently took out Solona's dog Adele as she protected Wynne's back from a stray arrow. Rory and Alistair were fighting like they were sharing a mind. They were dancing around the dragon's attacks, and hugging in tight to the dragon's legs when it tried to use its breath weapon to keep the others further from it.

The battle was taking too long in Elissa's opinion. Alistair, Rory, Shale and Oghren who seemed to be most effective under the dragon's belly had done a good job of weakening it. But the beast seemed to be able to shake off even the heaviest of their hits, that was until the dragon reared up and lifted both its wings and arms in an effort to get at both Rory and Alistair, Oghran was already by its back leg trying to hamstring it when the ballista being manned by Zevran and Leliana managed to catch the dragon in the weak area between the wing joint and the shoulder. Rory and Alistair looked at one another and nodded. Alistair started throwing his weight and shield like a hammer on a nail into the bolt while Rory moved in closer to distract the dragon by attacking its head. Alistair had only bashed it twice before the bolt pushed through the skin and out through the backbone, causing the dragon to fall, with its spine severed it fell with an inelegant jerking motions as all its limbs either stopped moving or spasmed from confused messages before they too stopped moving.

It let out a mournful cry as its head fell down beside its useless wing with the bolt sticking out of it. The breathing was labored and heavily filled with paining reptilian moaning. Alistair, Rory and Oghran backed up until the gathered with the rest of the party still standing.

"That's it then." Alistair panted. "She's down." He looked up and saw Elissa standing by the door with the archers, still holding her bow.

"Then it's time." Rory said quietly. He gave Solona one last loving look as he turned to face the dragon.

Solona felt the rage that had been building all day and night finally break. "No!" She screamed at him, as he turned to argue with her she fired off a mind blast, knocking everyone around her, but Shale, from their feet, giving her the time she needed to rush forward. She managed to cover ground quickly, she made a grab at a two-handed sword that was sticking out of the Hurlock Alpha on the way to the Archdemon's head and managed to wrap her hand around the hilt and yank it out without stopping. Everything around her slowed and fell silent as she kept rushing forward.

Her legs pumping with her fury, she could hear a roar that was deafening not realizing it was coming from her as she ran. As she reached the head of the Dragon it seemed to accept its fate and turned the top of its reptilian head towards her. She twisted the sword so the tip was pointed down and plunged it into the base of the Archdemon's skull, severing its spinal cord at the brain stem.

The pain was sudden and overwhelming. Her back arched as the magic of the Maker was released and the golden light widened into a thick beam that encompassed both the whole of the Archdemon and Solona with the sword still in hand, she was welded to the blade, unable to release it. She saw the images of ancient Tevinter, pre-Tevinter, the Golden City and the darkness and then the unbearable weight of the earth forcing her to sleep. The images suddenly stopped as a thread of pain streaked off and hit Morrigan who had forced herself closer to the beam. More and more of the pain siphoned off, until a silent "thank you" rang in her mind. Before she could think of responding she was thrown backward landing on her back and falling into blackness.

Rory and Alistair both had been very quick to recover but not fast enough to catch up and they were stopped by the column of light. Jowan who had been faster to recover and run towards her had been blasted backwards when he tried to touch her just after the light flared, and he was now out cold, lying crumpled on his side and Wynne was already running towards him to heal him. Both fought the urge to run to her turning to stare at one another not daring to get closer as they saw what happened to Jowan. The look on Rory's face was heartbreaking, he watched in horror as the light focused on Solona. Even when Morrigan rushed forward and tried to touch the light she was held back unlike Jowan she wasn't blown back but instead held still just outside the light. They both watched in despair as Solona screamed in pain, thrashed as if trying to pull her hands from the sword still locked into the dragon's skull as the light grew brighter. When the light exploded outward they were both once more blown off their feet.

Elissa watched in complete horror and then a small sliver of hope. From the doorway she could see the stream of thin light that was reaching out to Morrigan's abdomen. Just before the light beam exploded the stream ended with a ball of pulsing light entering Morrigan.

It took Rory only a few seconds after he landed ten feet away to rush to Solona's side and yank his gauntlets off to check if she was breathing. He wrapped his hand around the base of her neck to feel for her breath or heartbeat. When he found both he nearly fell over with relief. "She's alive!" He yelled as Elissa and Alistair ran over to them. Wynne and Cara unsteadily hurried over and tried to help her but they couldn't find anything wrong with her. Jowan toddled along behind them, awake but addled by his head wound.

"She's in the Fade." Wynne finally said after she exhausted every spell she could think of that would help her.

"Can we move her?" Elissa asked desperately.

"She'll be fine; she just needs to wake in her own time." Wynne assured her and Cara backed away uncertainly. Jowan stood wringing his hand but otherwise kept quiet.

Rory quickly but very carefully gathered her up into his arms, his tears falling silently with relief that she wasn't dead. Alistair and Elissa began clearing the way, with each step people were getting quickly out of the way of the queen and her prince.

As they passed onto the streets the cheering from the troops died away as they saw their procession moving so quickly. The whispers and rumors spread, by the time they had travelled on their way to the palace entrance a few blocks away, the streets were lined with everyone in the area, all were standing silently and watching with sad eyes as the young Warden-Commander was carried away from the Fortress into the palace.

Solona was placed on one of the royal guest rooms. Wynne and Rory stayed with her while Elissa and Alistair were called away to deal with the meetings with the generals and other heads of the factions such as Bhelen and Greagoir about the clean-up. Teagan showed up not fifteen minutes into the meetings about clearing the streets of darkspawn bodies and separating the dead from them. Bhelen was worried about returning to Orzammar as quickly as possible.

"Sorry to hear about your Warden-Commander." Bhelen said as he prepared to leave. "Brave girl."

Teagan gasped. "Solona dealt the killing blow?" He stumbled backward into his chair. "I thought Ser Gilmore-"

Elissa gave everyone a bright, but tired smile. "She did, but she survived."

Bhelen looked confused. "That's not possible. Legend states that the Warden and Archdemon both must perish or the Archdemon jumps to another host." The humans and Elven Keeper looked surprised by that bit of information and the beginnings of panic started to show on some of their faces.

Elissa nodded solemnly. "It's never jumped into a pregnant person before either." She looked sorrowful. "Although the child is soon to be lost." She added. She was so thankful neither she nor Solona had been pregnant at the time, but she couldn't show it yet.

Teagan's eyes bulged out even more and he began to hyperventilate. "Pregnant?"

Elissa had come up with the explanation on the spot based on the actual ritual so when asked she could word the rationalization as truthfully as possible, as she had right then. She had been careful to suggest Solona had been pregnant without actually saying it was her who was with child. She had also worded it as if the child was miscarried, instead of gone from Denerim in the morning to a place undisclosed. Morrigan had been persuaded to wait that long before disappearing with Elissa's blessing and an offer of sanctuary should she ever need it.

"Is there no way to save the babe?" Irving asked softly, hurting for his ex-apprentice's apparent loss.

"No." Elissa said softly. "The Archdemon's soul is within and when the child dies so will the soul." Everyone was silent for a moment. "Entering the child cleaned the soul, it's no longer blighted, but it's still the soul of an Old God."

Alistair was staring at her in awe but quickly looked down to hide it. He knew just how true everything she said was, she'd just been so cleaver with her wording. He noticed Teagan about to pass out and he couldn't help snickering which made everyone turn towards him. "It wasn't yours Teagan, relax."

Everybody stared opened mouthed at Alistair and Teagan, even Elissa who had the urge to hit herself in the forehead in exasperation. She'd manage to miss the fact Teagan was in the room when she started her explanation. Teagan looked both relieved and embarrassed at being called out in such esteemed company. Only Greagoir and Irving seemed unsurprised by the statement and they looked more like disappointed parents than upset at the news.

"I guess I should be surprised, but somehow I'm not." Greagoir said simply as turned away from the two men and back to Elissa. "I'll have my Templars help clear the Fortress and keep the Mages there until we are done helping and can return to Kinloch Hold, if that will be alright with you, your majesty?"

Elissa nodded reluctantly. "The third floor living quarters of the Fortress have barracks for the Templars at the end of the hall, and larger bedrooms can accommodate two to four mages each with a dead end at the other." She explained as she made the suggestion to the two men. "There should be enough rooms and beds for all of you, as long as none were destroyed. Feel free to move any furniture as needed to make everyone comfortable." Irving nodded his understanding and said nothing to make the young queen feel worse for having to help with the accommodations for the mages in such a way. He knew she hated the Circle.

Greagoir smiled and nodded. "Thank you for that." While barrack living was never fun it would be useful to have the Templars at one end and the mages in the rooms. The living areas of the fortress was designed for defense not containment, the third floor was the best they could hope for, particularly from a pro-mage queen like Elissa. Even he would never have suggested the prison portion of the Fortress for the mages after the ordeal they had all gone through. The mages were his charges, not his prisoners, regardless of what some people thought.

"My men and I will begin in the..." He paused as he looked out the window to the very early morning sky. "Afternoon." He said with a hint of amusement. "Good morning all." He said as he bowed and waited to be dismissed.

"Sleep well Knight-Commander, First-Enchanter. And give your men my personal thanks for all they did this evening." She gave him a real grateful smile. "And the Mages too please."

Greagoir smiled fondly back. "I included the mages in my men, but I will pass that on." With that he saluted and left the room.

Irving smiled and bowed to her. "Thank you Elissa. You have our support in everything you do or need. My people will be helping with the wounded after we too get some sleep."

"Thank you Irving, for everything. The Mages made it possible to defeat so many with such few casualties. That makes such a huge difference." He smiled and nodded once more before leaving to catch up with Greagoir.

"I think Greagoir's got a soft spot for you 'Lis. And Irving for that matter." Alistair said with a chuckle.

She smiled and shrugged. "They are both good men when they aren't being beaten down by demons, either real or imagined."

Her words seemed to make a few people uncomfortable but she continued on. "The Royal Army's priority would be clearing the outer bailey and alienage with the Dalish and City Elves helping in the latter. The City Guard and any other volunteer help they received would begin clearing the rest of the city." The group seemed to agree, a few details were ironed out and then Elissa sent messages to all the nobles asking for their personal militias to help clear the areas within several blocks of their own estates and help with the general cleanup. By late afternoon large groups of people were hauling hastily built large flat board wagons piled high with darkspawn corpses or regular corpses through the city and out to a field where the bodies were being collected for burning. Someone had found castes of oil and the darkspawn bodies were being drenched in it as the piles grew.

Alistair, Zevran, Shale, and Cara were down in the alienage cutting up the ogres for transport, they were the only ones who could do so safely. Rory and Jowan had refused to leave Solona's side. Elissa wished she could be down there with them rather than dealing with the nobles who were all trying to get an audience with the new queen first. She forced Teagan to play the part of her advisor and chamberlain for the moment as the other nobles all had responsibilities within the city.

The dead were being carried to the other side of the city from the darkspawn piles. While the funeral pyres were going to be mass pyres, Elissa had the builders make a single one for Cailan's effigy pyre to be built in the front.

  


**21** **st** **of Wintermarch**

**The Fade**

Days went by and Solona didn't wake.

She was sitting in a room in the Tower looking down at the world below her. The Tower had windows. She knew it was wrong but it helped. She could see the darkness retreating. She felt his presence behind her. "It's finally over." She whispered.

"No, it is only beginning." Valor told her softly. "You have proven to be my equal in the realm of the living. As such you will be tested time and again." He told her.

She shivered. "I will have to face more?" She cried out, turning she was surprised to find Valor wasn't in his armor. He was standing in Mage robes, but unlike any robes she'd seen in the circle they were only to his knees and his legs were in leather pants and boots.

He nodded and stood silently as she hid her face in her hands and began to cry. "I saw the fall of the Golden City. It was the Tevinter Mages, just like the Chant says."

"Yes and a Mage must lead the return of the Golden Light to restore it." He told her, his tone bland and simple.

"Why?!" She cried. "Why do I have too?"

"Because you are the only one who can. You are the strongest mage in your family. The Queen and The King will be your support. The Rogue will be your strength, as long as you do not let anything, or anyone, come between you. And because you have touched his Light and lived."

She sighed and looked away. "You are talking about Rory coming between us."

"And others who will not approve."

She shook her head. "Why should I give up Rory, he loves me!"

"But you do not love him. And he will be needed in another role, one that will take him from you. He cannot be your support in your next trial."

"Another role?" She whispered sadly. "What role?"

"You will be too busy to rebuild your Order, he and his mate will support another while your Rogue and you fight the enemies who began the Blights. And he will be needed for other things before the main fight begins again. His role is not to follow you."

"The Magisters still exist?" She asked incredulity.

"Not as humans." Was Valor’s reply.

"I don't want this." She cried, her tears slipping down her cheeks.

"No true hero seeks out the greatness that comes to them. Your valor in these times will become legend as will the true companions."

"And I have to let Rory go." She sniffled softly.

"You knew this already." Valor said with a hint of compassion in is voice, the first emotion he'd shown since he arrived.

She nodded sadly. "Please tell me he will be happy someday."

"I cannot. He has the freewill of all mortals, he has a choice. Like you he must choose to be happy once it is offered to him. If he refuses to let go of you he will miss his chance."

"But I don't have a choice do I." She turned from him to stare out the window at the light of day once more falling across the land below her.

"You do. You can resist, and make the Rogue just a friend, or you could kill him, or not allow him to be your mate, but you will be fighting your own instinct. He was made for you, as you were shaped for him, to be what each other needs and desires most."

"Made? Shaped?" she turned to him sharply, or more accurately the room spun while she stood still and they were face-to-face. "The eight, we were manipulated? By who? The Maker?"

"Many times the prophecy nearly came into being, each time something went wrong or a wrong choice was made. This time the changes and the connections will strengthen you all in ways that were natural instead of forced. You all choose to become the people we would need to support and watch over. You have all made the choices to be who you are, and if you all stay true to yourselves you will succeed where Andraste failed. If it helps the hardest fight is not your own."

"So we can quit if we wanted to?" She asked somewhat hopeful. "And no! It doesn't help, when I don't know who will have it worse."

His disapproval was evident, but he nodded. "If you wish, yes you may choose to not fulfill your role and watch as things grow ever darker, knowing you could have changed it."

She sighed and looked out the window once more. "Who has it worse than me?"

"Only one will, though another is making his life harder than it needs to be. He will need to hold onto himself as he will be challenged everyday of his trial to become someone he is not. But I am not his guide, I am yours."

"Can we help him?" She asked softly. "If I have to give up something like this I want to know I can do something to help us all."

"That is what your friend and his mate will be needed for." He told her after a long moment. "She will be a Daughter of Amell, but not one of the eight and as such she will have great sway over the events as they unfold."

Solona took a deep emotional painful breath and nodded her acceptance of her fate. "Then it is time to go back."

"Yes." He said sadly. "You have much to do Daughter of Amell, Leader of the Eight."

The world became a swirl of color until all the colors blended together and became black and she felt so heavy and thirsty. She couldn't move yet, she was starting to hear little sounds. When she could hear more clearly she wished she was able to jump up and shut Jowan up.

He was telling Rory about some prank she had played on Irving and Greagoir when she was about seven, they had both ended up locked in the room that she'd set up to drench the next people to walk in with slime. As it was the Templar kitchen which was housed between the Templar quarters and Irving’s office she hadn't thought the idea through enough. Irving and Greagoir had been talking late and decided to get a cup of tea to help them sleep. As she was an under-aged mage at the time, her punishment (and that of the Templar assigned to her quarters but had failed to stop her from escaping to pull her prank) was to clean the kitchen from top to bottom and she had to work cleaning dishes for a month. The two were laughing so hard they took a moment to realize she had opened her eyes.

"Her eyes' aren't blue anymore." Rory exclaimed with a little relief as Jowan came forward to check her responses.

"The amount of lyrium in her blood was why she was so easily pushed into the Fade. Normally mages only have that much lyrium in a day when they have their Harrowing." Wynne said as she entered the room behind them. She'd had a spell alert her when Solona woke.

"You scared me to the Void Sole!" Jowan cried and squeezed her hand tightly. "Don't ever do that again." He said as he looked deeply into her eyes, relieved she wasn't possessed.

"Sorry, Valor was chatty." She mumbled as she tried to sit up.

"Ah, so Valor is advising you now." Wynne said with a hint of relief. "Faith is very happy to hear it. She meant to be of more help, but the timing got away from her and she ended up voiceless."

"I get the feeling this was the way things were to have gone anyway." Solona said with a defeated sigh. "Freewill is a bit of a bitch when you know the outcome of your actions if you don't follow the path laid out for you." She said staring down at her hands, she hadn't looked at Rory yet and everyone caught on to what she was saying at the same time. Their semi-relationship wasn't a secret, nor was the prophecy saying she was to be with a rogue not a warrior.

Rory stood up and went to leave. "I'm glad you’re alright Sole." He said softly. "I'll let Elissa know."

"Rory!" She called out to him, finally looking into his eyes. His were filled with resigned acceptance which compounded the guilt she was feeling. "I'm sorry."

He shook his head. "You were honest with me Solona. You're the _'Hero of Ferelden'_ now." She winced at the title and he knew from that little movement that as much as she said she didn't love him she did cared deeply, he'd known that for a while now. It helped to know he had meant something to her, unlike Teagan. It made him felt like she did love him as much as she was able to love anyone. They just weren't meant to be.

"It's good you're awake. Jowan can fill you in with what you need to know before the Warden Commanders from Orlais arrive tomorrow. We expect more within a day or so from Kirkwall and Cumberland depending on the winds." She nodded but had a pout on her lips that nearly made him break down and beg her to stay with him anyway. Instead he turned and left before his resolved could be tested further.

Jowan frowned and patted her hand. "He's barely left your side since the fight." He told her with a great deal of sympathy. "He's the one who checked on you, and then carried you back here from the Fort after you defeated the Archdemon. You could have chosen a better time to break his heart."

Solona looked away. "Can we please not talk about that right now?" She asked. Her voice was mournful and very quiet.

He nodded and just held her hand for a few minutes waiting for her to regain her composure. "Elissa made it sound like you were pregnant and that you lost the child as a way to explain why you are still alive." He told her quietly. "Only Alistair, Rory, Zevran, myself and Wynne know otherwise, although Leliana likely knows as well. None of us are going to say anything that could have them chasing down Morrigan." He explained to her.

Solona snorted. "I can imagine how that is going over with everyone." While Ferelden was slightly progressive in its views, unmarried pregnancies were still considered scandals.

"Well Teagan nearly had a heart attack over it." He chuckled and Solona couldn't help a surprised snort at that news. "Elissa hadn't realized he'd slipped into the room before she came up with her explanation. When she told them very carefully about the Archdemon's soul attacking a pregnant woman she was careful to not say it was you, she just let them assume she meant you."

He gave a the full exaggerated story he'd heard from Alistair about what had happened and how Elissa had masterfully handled the whole thing. He been glad he'd stayed out of sight. Greagoir was still mad at him for his use of blood magic and several Templars had tried to come and retrieve him. Elissa and Alistair had sent them back to Greagoir with a note reminding him Templars had no jurisdiction over Warden mages. Greagoir had sent one back saying they had been working without orders and it would be taken care of, however if they could keep Jowan away from the Circle Templars he would appreciate it.

"Remind me to ask him for our and Cara's phylacteries." She groaned as she moved so she was sitting more upright. Jowan lent her his arm and helped get her settled against the headboard.

"He already sent for them." Jowan said softly.

"There aren't in Denerim?" She asked more than a little surprised.

Jowan shook his head and sat back in his chair. "Greagoir warned them that the Blight was real, so they sent them to a more secure location."He rolled his eyes at the distinction.

Solona laughed lightly. "Well considering Denerim was attacked..."

Jowan chuckled. "I guess it was a good idea, but I'd rather they had all been destroyed."

"Elissa is very pro-mage Jowan." She said with a knowing look. "I think she will change things."

He scoffed dryly, "She can't free them."

Solona gave him a small smile. "I know, but she will do something. I know she will always have our backs."

"I knew she had yours, I just never expected her to support me." He said quietly and still surprised that Alistair had helped stand against the Templars who came for him. They'd seen him cast blood magic after Cullen had stabbed him, but hadn't been able to do anything at the time.

She smiled. "Jowan you, Elissa and Alistair are the only family I have. We are all going to support each other." He gave her a grateful smile and left to get her some soup.

Solona was glad to be fully fit the next day by noon. She was dressed in her armor, which someone had buffed clean. She was to be presented to the Court in a few minutes and then she was to wave to the crowd outside to prove she was alive. She had also planned to go down to the gates and look at some of the offerings that had been left.

Alistair had stepped up as acting-Warden-Commander while Solona was in the Fade. He'd had the Archdemon rendered and the blood saved. He'd locked a good four hundred and twenty pints away for Ferelden only use, and the rest he had separated into clay wine travel jugs to be handed out to the Commanders and to the Warden-Leadership. He'd moved the skin and bones to a hidden vault in the Palace and had the rest of the body ready to be cremated. He'd thought to wait for Solona before doing so.

The regular dead had been gathered and tomorrow would be a day of mourning and the pyres would be lit, including Cailan's Effigy, which would have some of his actual ashes in it, Leliana had saved some to present to Anora originally, but this seemed fitting. Loghain would also be burned that day in a private ceremony with full honors of a hero of Ferelden. Elissa had planned to attend as did Solona. Alistair was going to give it a miss in part to spare Anora any additional pain and because he would likely end up entertaining the Warden Leaders.

The ceremony to honor Solona and the rest of the Wardens and their companions was going to be her first stately act as Queen in the morning before the funerals. Eamon had seen to the cleaning of the hall for the presentation and the Nobles had gathered. Everyone was with Solona except for her and Eamon. There was quite a few lower level accommodations to be seen to before Solona's, including one for Teagan, who had lead a small group of men who managed to hold the Eastern Gate to the city when some unexpected darkspawn reinforcements had arrived, it was the group Cullen ironically had been sent to where he had very heroically taken down an ogre pretty much single handedly. They had been moments from being overrun when Solona killed the Archdemon and the Darkspawn had fled. Both were offered Metals of Service from Ferelden.

"Presenting Solona Amell, Warden-Commander of Ferelden, her Constables Alistair Theirin and Roland Gilmore, and Senior Wardens Zevran Arainai, Jowan and Cara." The two dogs Flynn and Adele also entered with the other Wardens. Someone had made them warden style armor for the dogs making them look quite formidable. Elissa wished she'd thought of that before they had gone into battle.

"The the Warden War Dogs Flynn and Adele." The Chamber Lord added looking and sounding annoyed to be presenting the dogs, the announcements had both dogs looking very smug and added a touch of levity to the proceedings for Elissa. The dogs moved forward and pushed Alistair and Rory aside so they both stood with Solona causing even more laughter among the crowd. As Solona reached the dais, she went down on one knee, as did all the others with her.

Elissa stood from the seat she was using in front of the actual throne. She would not sit in the seat until Cailan's crown had been passed down properly. She walked forward to address the crowd.

"My dear Lords and Ladies of the Landsmeet, it is my greatest pleasure to present "The Hero of Ferelden" and the "Slayer of the Archdemon" with the Rights of Ferelden Citizenship and to the rest of the Wardens standing before me." Only Rory was actually a legal citizen so this was a major stumbling block with the leadership amendment she was about to add to the charter for the Grey Wardens of Ferelden. Even Alistair had been born without documentation so his rights had never been registered. Teagan had said there was a good reason for this but wouldn't say more.

"One more Warden took part in the Battle with the Archdemon and was instrumental in grounding the beast, Riordan of Ferelden, a member of the Orlisian Grey Warden Command." She said with a show of grief. She was sad he hadn't survived, but she also didn't truly mourn the man since she hadn't really gotten to know him well.

"For their sacrifice and service to Ferelden, I further offer a full charter of reinstatement to the Grey Wardens to build a standing headquarters within our borders. Any and all Wardens serving Ferelden for here on out will need to either be a citizen, or petition to become one before being offered a permanent rank within our borders." She added. This caused quite the stir but none from the wardens. It was unheard of to limit the Wardens, but the Wardens themselves were not complaining, so that limited the grumbling from the nobles.

"I further grant the Wardens the Arl of Amaranthine to use as their headquarters and the lands as their income to support their Order as they rebuild for as long as the Hero of Ferelden remains the Warden-Commander and grant her right to the acting title of Arlessa of Amaranthine." That announcement was greeted with a mixed response of applause and yells of outrage. The Chantry was strangely quiet. Elissa had expected some outrage but he Grand Cleric had a thoughtful look and did not seem disturbed by the idea.

"I also grant Solona Amell a single boon." Elissa said before she motioned for all of them to stand.

Solona's mind was going a mile a minute. With that speech Elissa had protected her from being removed before her Calling by the Warden-Leadership, and she'd found a way to punish Howe from the grave and fund the Wardens without taxing any of the nobles.

"I would ask that the rights of citizenship be extended to all mages who are currently living within Ferelden, and to any brought to Ferelden for more than a year." She said firmly. With those Rights of Citizenship, the Rite of Annulment would become illegal within Ferelden. No one could be executed without trial. That was the law. It also meant they had the right to get married as long as the church was willing to perform the ceremony.

"It will be made law." Elissa decreed. She once more looked up at the Grand Cleric expecting an interruption, but there was none; again she looked to be deep in thought.

There was the granting of the others with their own promises. Rory was promised that his family lands would be governed by the Crown until any child of his was of age. Alistair was given the right to be the Queen's Champion. Zevran, Jowan and Cara were awarded pardons for any crimes they had committed in Ferelden prior to that day for as long as they served the Wardens.

"My Lords and Ladies of the Landsmeet I give you the "Hero of Ferelden" and her fellow Champions of the Grey!" Elissa cried and raised her hands.

The roaring was thunderous. Nobles stomped their feet and clapped. The Ceremony officially ended the people came down to congratulate the 'heroes', even Elissa had her fair share of attention from people wanting to talk to her as one of the companions during the Blight. Alistair telling people she had been bitten and spit out by a High Dragon was getting her some looks of respect from some of the older Nobles who remembered her as a little girl in pigtails.

She had been keeping an eye on Rory so when he slipped out of the hall unseen she made her excuses that she had to get ready for the mass funeral as a reason to escape and follow him. He was about to enter his own room in the family wing when she caught up to him.

"Rory." She said softly as she came forward and hugged him tightly from behind.

"Who called her the Hero of Ferelden first?" He asked dejectedly.

Elissa shook her head against his back. "I have no idea. It started with the soldiers when they learned she lived."

He placed his forehead against the door. "We'll start rumors you cheating on Alistair if we keep acting like this." He said with a humorless snort.

Elissa stepped back, "Then open the door and let's talk."

He let her enter first and she ran over and jumped on the bed like she had when they were kids. Rory couldn't help but shake his head and chuckle at the sight. It was funny to see a grown woman in full skirt jumping and flopping on the bed, At least she was in Ferelden style, Orlisian would have been a disaster! He walked more sedately and sat on the edge and took his boots off before he moved up to sit beside her with his back against the headboard. She moved over and cuddled into his side like she always had. Over the past several months they hadn't had many moments to just be Rory and 'Lissa of Highever.

"I take it things didn't go well." She said carefully. Solona had refused to talk about it; only that Valor had been talkative and had laid out her options. It had made Elissa happy Faith couldn't talk.

Rory was quiet but his hand running up and down her back letting her know he was thinking deeply. "I was an idiot." He said finally.

Elissa kept quiet even though she wanted to comfort him and tell him he wasn't. She knew he didn't want to hear it. He needed her to be his best friend and just listen to him, let him vent, not have her try and fix everything.

"I liked her right away, but I put her in an off-limits category." He explained. He leaned back further and rested his head on the large headboard. He was so quiet that the movement of his hand was the only way she knew he was still awake. "I should have left her there." He finally said.

Elissa cuddled in closer and laid her head on his lap. He moved his hand to her hair, running his fingers through, combing it with soft strokes. "What changed?" She finally asked.

He stopped moving his hand. "The broodmother. I mean I noticed she was attractive, but it wasn't a thing I focused on." He was silent for another minute before he continued. "She had been doing so well until we saw that broodmother, and she saw it as a glimpse of her future and she nearly broke."

"And you made your pact." She prodded carefully.

"That was really the turning point, even though Alistair had made a comment about her and the two month mark earlier, but I really didn't seriously consider her as something more until that day in the Deep Roads." He whispered. "She seemed so scared and I just wanted to protect her... And then that changed everything... I fell in love with her 'Lissa. I knew it was stupid and I kept trying to hold it off, or turn away from it."

"I thought it didn't get that far." She whispered.

He chuckled. "Oh it's not a deep love like what you have with Alistair. It could have been… maybe… but we both knew she wasn't available. Her Rogue is out there." He said bitterly.

"I wish it was you." she said sadly. She wanted her best friend to be happy. He’d lost so much and come through it all with so much strength.

"Don't worry about this 'Lissa." He said with a small laugh. "I'll get over it. It will take a little while, but I'll be fine."

She nodded against his thigh, bringing his attention to her position which he hadn't noticed as they talked. "Ah Elissa, that's not a good place for you to be." He said looking really uncomfortable.

Elissa snorted but sat up. "Rory that's just gross." She chuckled as she leaned back up against his side.

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah well I have about as much control over that as I did at seventeen right now."

She laughed and he slowly joined her, remembering the first time he'd hugged her and accidently rubbed against her without armor on after he'd turned seventeen and hit a hormonal point where everything turned him on or caused him to get hard. It had been one of his most embarrassing moments since it was in front of her brother Fergus. He'd laughed until he fell on the ground. Rory had been horrified and a little disgusted since he still to this day saw Elissa as a sister.

"I'll blame it on you thinking of another girl." She teased him.

There was a knock on the door. "Perfect timing." Rory muttered as he put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close to kiss her temple, and jumped out of his bed and answered the door. Alistair stood there with a very flustered servant.

"Sorry, Mayria was looking for Elissa to help her dress for the funerals. And let her know the Grey Wardens have been sighted. They should arrive during the ceremony." He said looking bashful for interrupting them.

"It's ok we were done anyway." Rory chuckled. Elissa jumped off the bed and came to the door.

"Hi love." She said with a smile as she came out of the room and hugged him. She smiled at the maid. "Shall we, I need my hairstyle changed and put on the grey mourning cloak that was laid out this morning."

"Yes, your majesty." She said awkwardly as she stared wide-eyed from Alistair to Rory and back.

Elissa's eyes turned steely as she stared down the maid. "If a single word of scandal escapes I will personally end it. Understood?"

The girl nodded her head frantically. Elissa sweep away and the girl quickly followed the Warrior Queen of Ferelden.

"That is one intimidating lady when crossed, no?" Zevran said as he materialized from the shadows.

Rory laughed. "Don't piss her off Alistair; you have to sleep with her."

Alistair smiled widely," Yeah, but lately I find that really enticing." He said as he still stared after the two with a lovesick look on his face.

Rory pushed him into the wall with a loud crash of his armor striking the stone startling everyone around them. "Ewww. Damn Alistair."

He laughed as he straightened up. "Come on; let's get something to eat while we wait for Elissa to rejoin us." He said leading Rory to the dining hall with everyone but Morrigan had gathered. The staff had set out a buffet to help feed their Warden appetites.

  


The funerals were presided over by the Grand Cleric. Elissa and Alistair were once more in their matching armor but he wore a plain grey cloak as they stood by Cailan's pyre, he looked a little reflective during the ceremony and Elissa held his hand throughout. When it was time she handed the torch to him and gave him an encouraging nod to light the King's Effigy. He was a little stiff but he'd actually watched his brother's body burn once already. As he lit the Pyre, people began to light the other mass pyres. There were so many dead that there wasn't enough wood for personal pyre's. The only reason Cailan's was separate was because it was symbolic and the magical armor required more than the specially treated wood needed to burn the bodies. Pyre wood was always treated with a mixture that the Chantry provided that burned hotter to actually reduce bodies to ash.

Anora was present off to the side. Leliana had offered her half of Cailan's ashes and she had tearfully accepted Elissa had been told. She was in widow black. The plan was for her to be escorted away after an hour to go to her father's personal pyre. Plans were about to change because Elissa saw the column of Wardens arriving slowly so their arrival would not disrupt the ceremony.

"Anora, I am sorry I am going to be needed for a bit. I'll be there as soon as possible." She told the grieving woman compassionately. Anora looked at the line of Wardens and gave her a knowing nod, and turned back to Cailan's pyre without a word.

Solona walked forward and approached the Warden-Commander and her Constable. "Well met! I'm Solona Amell, Warden-Commander of Ferelden." She gestured to Rory who was beside her. "My Constable, Rory Gilmore." And she turned and gestured to Alistair. "This is my other Constable, and soon-to-be Prince-Consort of Ferelden Alistair Theirin."

The Warden Commander of Orlais raised a brow at that. "I'm Alisse Fontaine, and this is my only Constable Gordon Blackwall."

"Please follow me to the palace and we can have a private conversation, although we might be joined by a Warden Ally Queen-elect Elissa Cousland." Solona said formally before turning to lead the way into the city. Blackwall allowed Alisse to ask the questions so it was only Solona and her that spoke on the way to the palace. They kept the topics simple, when did she join, where what happened to all the other senior wardens. Things that were or could be common knowledge like is the Archdemon dead were answered, when she asked who killed the Archdemon Solona gave her a blank stare and stopped walking.

"I did, and any other questions should wait until we are somewhere private." Solona place a hand over her abdomen and walked away quickly. Both Rory and Alistair looked at one another and quickly followed behind her, blocking the others from asking anymore questions. Both actually were impressed at the subtle gesture that it seemed only the Warden Commander had seen.

She led them into a room that had been converted into a study for the three of them near their rooms in the family wing. Alistair had grabbed the extra chairs and the five sat down. "Welcome to my temporary office." Solona said with a tired look and tone.

Alisse nodded carefully. She hadn't missed the fact that this was the family wing of the palace. To be a Warden-Commander in Orlais required one be well versed in The Game, and Solona had on the way here put a kink in every plan she had to place the Ferelden Wardens under her own command.

"You killed the Archdemon?" She asked, deciding to get the first most important question out of the way. "How did you survive?"

Solona looked down and placed a hand over her abdomen once more. "The soul of the Archdemon entered a different vessel and was cleansed, but it's gone now." She said with a quiet whisper.

Rory put his hand on her shoulder and whispered in her ear. "Very good, but don't over play it." He took the hand resting on her stomach and held it for a moment before placing it on the chair's armrest.

Alistair spoke up as the two Orlisians looked even more intrigued. "The Old Soul of the Archdemon entered the body of the unborn child and the child is now gone."

Alisse closed her eyes as a look of understanding crossed her face, Blackwall was not so considerate. "Are you sure it didn't jump? And since when do Grey Wardens get pregnant?"

Alisse put her hand on Blackwall's arm. "Gordon, it's rare but possible but only in newer recruits like Fiona was and the Commander here currently is."

Blackwall gave her a stony glare. "Fiona is also no longer a warden, that's why she got pregnant."

Solona sat up straighter. "No longer a warden?" She shared a look between the others as she turned her attention back to the other two Wardens.

"That is a tale for another time.” Alisse told her softly. “And still somewhat a mystery. I'll send you a copy of the Warden-Commander book of secrets as I am sure you have not found Duncan's." She told them quietly.

"Actually I have it, but it's written in code so I can't read it." Alistair said softly. "It was in the Grey Warden Vault in his trunk."

Alisse nodded slowly. She could tell the three were a team, one helping in their area of specialty and deferring to the others when it wasn’t. She could never depend on her fellows the same way they would see it as weaknesses to be exploited. She could never understand this Ferelden mentality of teamwork in leadership. She would not argue with it for now because it had stopped a Blight.

"I can help with that, I'll give you a copy of the cipher. But I have to ask... as the senior warden, why are you only a constable and not the commander?" She asked Alistair.

With that question the three told the tale of the Fifth Blight to the two guests. Elissa came in halfway through. As they had already covered Elissa pretending to be the Warden-Commander they two were quick to accept her. The fact that there was an unstable two hundred year old blood mage Warden alive unnerved Alisse. The more she heard the more she was amazed that the small band of people she had been hearing about had not only succeeded in killing the Archdemon and ended a Blight in record time, but had managed to get in place an agreement that the Wardens had been trying to get in placed since year ten of the Dragon Age when small band had been helped by Maric to disrupt the Architect's plans.

The limitations on the agreement were interesting and ended any chance she had of direct control over the Wardens in Ferelden. The Chantry and Empress would not be pleased, but Queen Elissa was very protective of her country and had closed a great deal of loopholes.

She was also surprised the only casualty among their group was Riordan, and that was because he'd gone off on his own. While his contribution likely helped to end the Blight by not allowing the Archdemon to retreat, he was still dead, and he was the last of the Ferelden Wardens she had.

"The First Warden will need a full report." She said when they were done. "While getting involved in politics is frowned upon, you all did a good job of limiting the Warden involvement with the Queen taking the 'blame' for it." She smiled at Elissa who knew she was being complimentary. "I honestly can't imagine having to do what you did without the support of the Empress had this happened in Orlais."

"Or I," Said Blackwall slowly, he was actually a little taken with the bravery of the group. "As Slayer of the Archdemon, and her companions you all hold the right to your Wings of Valor helmet." He said holding up his own helmet with its wings.

"Before you leave if you would be willing to show that to our Armorer I would be grateful." Elissa said smiling. She gave him directions to Wade's shop. "I have also arranged for the old Warden compound to be cleared for your men. The Guard Sergeant is waiting outside to escort you there. I imagine after your journey you and your men would like a chance to eat and sleep. The compound has a full staff and they were told to expect you this evening so they should have dinner ready by the time you are settled in."

"Thank you your majesty. And thank you for your letter after Ostagar. The men you sent to us are scattered and likely with the other Warden Commanders, once they delivered your message to us they moved on to Ostwick, Kirkwall, Weisshaupt, and Cumberland."

Elissa smiled proudly. "I knew I could count on them to get the job done."

  


It took weeks, but more and more Grey Warden armies arrived expecting to fight Darkspawn, and while several of these armies lead by Rory and Zevran did move south to push the Darkspawn back into their holes in the Wilds, and into the shallow roads under Ferelden’s southern lands, some stayed in Denerim to help with clean up and rebuilding.

Jowan and Cara both moved back to the Peak and the ex-werewolves got to work widening the roads and making progress in clearing the tunnels to the shoreline. It would take years to make it a headquarters again, but they had about twenty-five to thirty years to get it done, hopefully.

Denerim's streets were clear of debris in time for Elissa's Coronation a month after the battle. The night before Rory had arrived back from his trip down to the Wilds, he seemed a little too excited but Elissa was so nervous she refrained from prying beyond asking him how he was doing. He'd shrugged and said keeping busy helped. He'd also kept away from the palace that night and Elissa didn't really blame him. Solona had been just as busy. Each of the Warden-Commanders had to be presented with their supply of Archdemon blood and a personal telling of the Fifth Blight and Alistair split his time between helping in the city and helping Solona with her Warden responsibilities. Alistair had kept about thirty percent of the blood for themselves and split the rest evenly between the other commands. It was amazing how much blood was in the body of a dragon. Nearly a hundred pints were lost during the fight but still there was enough blood left for each command to get nearly two hundred each after Alistair's reserve.

Elissa had only seen Alistair once he came to bed for the night during the last two weeks. His days were just as busy as people were sending in their requests for aid and she had to prioritize the help she could provide. The Dwarves had left and taken the Orlisian Wardens with them to help them stem the damage to their city. The news was good. The Darkspawn were avoiding the city and the Warden presence there. They were spreading under Ferelden and Orlais, and into Nevarra and the Free Marches. The Horde was breaking up as it moved further from Ferelden, and much less organized.

Each week more and more Wardens left to return to their own lands and their portion of the Deep Roads. Each command had offered to lend a small group of wardens to help bolster Ferelden's ranks until Solona had a chance to put enough recruits through the Joining. Solona had taken the help and sent most with the previous Ferelden Warden Seneschal to Vigil's Keep near Amaranthine to assess the keep and make it into a headquarters for the Wardens. Solona would need to stay in Denerim for a little while as she needed to be near the main port while she waited for the First Warden to get back to her. Amaranthine had a port, but it wasn't where correspondence would be sent and she also needed to get a crash course on how to rule her Arldom. Rory and Alistair needed to setup the training compound in Denerim and Alistair was also getting a crash course in being a noble, but he was getting his training from Rory mostly.

Eamon had been tapped to do that after Teagan had left to take care of Redcliffe and Rainsfaire, he was currently back for the coronation but he'd be gone again in a few days. There had been a bit of a scandal after Alistair had opened his big mouth, but it was blowing over quickly since there was so much more interesting news making the rounds. The only reason anyone had paid attention to it was because it involved Solona. Any news involving her had everyone talking about it, but a public version of the events involving the Blight were released and making the rounds, and the 'Tears of Andraste' had been returned to the Chantry. Both overshadowed everything else.

  


**1** **st** **of Guardian**

**Denerim**

Alistair had been nervous. He’d been planning this night for a while. In a way he’d been planning this night for years. He’d always wanted to take someone special on a date. Elissa was more than he’d ever dreamed, and he wanted the night to be perfect. He’d asked Teagan to help him set everything up. The Gnawed Noble Tavern had a private dining room for special guests, which the queen elect certainly qualified.

The options had been a little overwhelming because they were finally in the city; of course those options were limited compared to normal because of the damage to the city. Most of the options that had been taken off the table were things he had no experiences with; music, dance performances and some theatre. The only options they had were some of the open air theatre. Teagan had been instrumental in choosing the right one. Many of the local troops were doing plays based on rumors of what had happened during the Blight and that was not something Alistair was interested in seeing tonight. He wanted all that to be forgotten for once.

So much of their relationship had been over shadowed by the Blight. In fact his would only be their third date since they’d met all those months ago in Ostagar. The first date being in Orzammar when he was supposed to distract her, and the second at the Firstday celebrations when they had ended up still talking to others about the politics of the Blight.

He’d asked her to dress up in a nice dress, and arranged for guards so that he too could be dressed as her date, instead of her champion. It was nerve-racking. He was not used to being without armor and a sword and shield. He was pacing in front of Teagan’s fireplace so Elissa could use their rooms to get ready.

“Alistair, sit down before you wear a hole in the seams of those pants.” Teagan laughed at him. “Velvet tears much easier than leather my dear boy.”

Alistair glared at him. “You are having too much fun at my expense.”

He chuckled at raised his glass of brandy. “I have to get my revenge subtly for telling everyone about Solona and me as you did.”

Alistair dropped himself heavily in a chair in front of the fireplace. “I’ve apologized for that repeatedly.” He whined. He really didn’t think anything of it at the time when he said what he did about the baby not being his. He’d learned better since.

Teagan snorted. “Still doesn’t make-up for it… yet.”

Alistair was saved from more groveling by the guards coming to let him know Elissa was ready. Alistair shot him one last look as he picked up the rose display he’d had arranged. “You didn’t sabotage anything for tonight—" His worry and actually fear on his face.

Teagan’s eyes soften and he shook his head. “No, it’s one thing to tease you Alistair, but I would never do something to ruin your first chance at a romantic date with your soon-to-be wife.”

Alistair sighed with relief. “Thank you Teagan, you really are the only person I trust outside of the Wardens and Elissa.”

Teagan was taken aback by the statement. He knew Alistair didn’t have many he considered friends, most having died at Ostagar, but he hadn’t known it was such a small group. It touched him to know that this strong young man he admired for his accomplishments did trust him. “Go and enjoy you night with Elissa, and give her my best.” He added with a loving patriarchal proud smile. He’d never had a chance to raise his own son, nor would he likely see him again. Having Alistair as a pseudo nephew gave him hope for the future. “Get out of here you rascal, don’t keep the queen waiting.” He laughed, waving Alistair away before he could see the tears his words were bringing to his eyes.

Alistair straightened his dress shirt and doublet. He turned to the guard. “Do I look as ridicules as I feel?” He muttered.

“No Sire.” The guard responded. “You just aren’t used to being out of armor.”

Alistair nodded his head a few times while trying not to wince. “Right, well here goes.” He rapped on the door sharply.

When the maid opened the door Alistair caught sight of Elissa rising from her chair by her desk. Her hair was done up in an elaborate up do with wisps of hair floating down around her face and nape of her neck. She was dressed in Highever blue with a silver silk cloak and silver shoes poking out from under her dress. Alistair was mesmerized. While on the road he’s gotten used to seeing her hair pulled back in a tight braided ponytail. Make-up was also not a requirement. Seeing her done up in both with the finery was making him feel lightheaded.

He presented his rose display to her. He’d spent nearly forty minutes with the florist to have the flowers say just the right thing; because he’d learned since the last time he’d presented her with roses that she knew the language of flowers very well. His display was of; two red roses to portray love and respect, two purple for enchantment and enthrallment, two orange for enthusiasm and captivation making six in total which meant ‘I am devoted to you and wish to be yours’ and a handful of small white arbutus flowers intermixed which said ‘you are my only love’.

Elissa looked at the flowers in his hand and took them with a grateful and bashful smile. “They couldn’t be more perfect.” She told him with a look of utter adoration. “Thank you.” She lend forward and kissed his cheek gently as not to leave a mark on his cheek from the lip stain she was using this evening. “You are mine and my only love sweet Alistair.” She whispered in his ear before pulling back giving him a true loving smile. He was proud that he’d spent so much time on the display. It was rare to see that smile on her face in front of others. She was reluctant to hand them over when her maid came over to take them from her.

“Are you ready to go my love?” He asked her.

She gave him a shy smile but nodded. He hoped it was only because she too was used to being in armor by now that had her acting so bashful. He worried if she didn’t like what he had planned that she wouldn’t tell him so he could make the night better. He took a deep breath and reminded himself that Elissa was perfectly capable of telling him if she was bored and made himself let that fear go.

He felt rather than saw her reach towards her sword on the side table by the door. He pulled her a little closer to him so it was out of reach. “If I have to go without a sword tonight my dear so do you.” He chuckled at her shameful smirk.

“I know. It just seems odd to be without it.” She admitted with a small laugh.

“For tonight we are just two people going out for a nice dinner, desert and maybe a theatre play.” His confident voice trailed into a questioning one by the end. He needn’t have worried, Elissa looked thrilled.

“Oh that sounds delightful. Other than dinner in Orzammar I’ve never done this.” She admitted softly to him, so as not to be overheard. Until they got to the private dining room the guards would have to be close enough to hear everything they said at a normal level.

Alistair gave her a warm smile. “Me either. I hope you don’t mind but I had a little help for the evening planning.”

She giggled and gave him a genuine smile, not like the ones he’d seen her use in the past few weeks with the noble, dignitaries, and Wardens that had been in and out of the capital. This smile was reserved for those she loved. It reached her eyes and made her face look younger and more alive.

“Can I ask where we are going?” She asked as they walked up to the royal carriage. It was obviously out of walking distance in their finery in the winter night air if they were taking the carriage in the still rubble strewn streets. Only the main through ways were completely clear because of her coronation next week.

“You’ll see when we get there.” He told her as he helped her get inside. The guards mounted their horses and surrounded the carriage.

Alistair was nervous and couldn’t think of anything that wasn’t related to the Blight to talk about so he decided to ask her about something that was hopefully going to get her to tell him something he didn’t know about her. “So Rory said something the other day.”

Elissa gave him a look that suggested she was wary of what his question would be. “Should I be concerned?”

He chuckled. “He said that if we ever needed you to open the Firstday ceremonies you could.” He smiled and the look of embarrassment on her face. “I take it you can sing?”

She shook her head. “I can if no one else is available.” She admitted softly. “I prefer to only sing for intimate crowds, family and friends.”

“Can you sing something for me?” He asked eagerly.

She laughed. “No, not right now. I would need at least ten minutes to get my voice ready.” She gave him a pleased smile. “Ask me again later tonight when we are completely alone, I would love to sing for you privately.”

Alistair’s smile couldn’t be wider. “I’m going to be looking forward to that.”

Elissa blushed. “If you want someone to open ceremonies ask Sole. She actually got voice training in the Circle and she has a better range of music she can sing.”

He looked confused. “They taught her to sing?”

Elissa nodded. “And to dance, it gave them something to do. Firstday the mages in the Circles usually had some type of dance.” Alistair shook his head over the strangeness of the Circles. They discouraged relationships, and then held events so they could socialize.

“Any other hidden talents I should know my dear?” He teased softly.

Elissa blushed a deep red. “Nothing I can show you. It would have burned at Highever, but I used to draw.” She bit her lip carefully and started down at her fingers.

Alistair’s curiosity was peaked. Drawing was something he too enjoyed doing and was allowed to do on the cheaper paper in the chantry with the charcoal pencils. The reverend mother had even used some of his pictures in the chantry, and allowed him to ink some of the more useful pictures. “What was your specialty?”

He knew it was something she was uncomfortable sharing because suddenly she couldn’t look at him and she was blushing even deeper red, the flush running down her shoulders. “Poses, training sequences, that type of thing mostly. I sort of kept my talent hidden.”

Alistair was confused on why she would be so embarrassed by that. “I’d like to see any you do from now on. Does Rory know about your drawing?”

Elissa choked. “Ah no, I would never have shown him those.”

Alistair chuckled. “Your acting like you drew every one nude Elissa.”

“Nearly.” She muttered, still not looking at Alistair.

“Pardon?” He asked more than a little surprised. His little innocent Elissa used to draw nearly nude pictures?

“At first I used to draw them fully dressed in armor, it helped me to see where I was messing up.” She explained. “Then one of the maids saw them and asked if I would draw one of the knights without his shirt on for her. I’d seen him without a shirt during training in the hotter months so it was easy to do.”

Alistair could easily see how it could have started and was amused by the thought. “How many did they ask you for of Rory?” He chuckled at the disgusted look on her face.

“Too many!” She said with a shake of her head. “I did them anyway. I just never kept any of him for myself.” He bit her lip when she realized what she had just told him. “Oh Maker’s Arse. Please forget I said that!”

He roared with laughter. “So how many knights of Highever ended up in your personal collection?”

“Just five and three were fully clothed. The other two weren’t exactly knights of Highever.” She admitted blushing. “Can we please stop talking about this?”

Alistair gave her an amused grin and but nodded. He didn’t want to ruin the night but discussing uncomfortable topics. “Does Rory know?”

Elissa shook her head. “He knew someone was drawing them obviously, but I never signed the pictures for the maids and they knew not to let him know for any reason or there would be no more pictures.”

“So he has no idea.” Alistair was delighted to know something even Rory didn’t know about her.

She shook her head. “He asked me once who was good enough to make them; he was happy with them and wanted the person to make him a picture he could send to his dad. I told him I didn’t know but I could ask around. A week later I sent him one of him standing by the training dummies dressed in his full armor via one of the maids.”

Alistair smiled at her softly. “I bet his father was very happy to get it.”

She nodded happily. “Yes, his next letter was full of thanks for it. Unlike most I’d inked it using expensive ink so it would last longer and done the drawing on thick parchment.”

“Would you draw a picture for me?” He asked her. “And pose for me so I could try drawing you?”

“You draw too?” She asked pleased they had something else in common.

He only had time to confirm that he did before they were stopping in front of the Gnawed Noble. “I believe we have arrived at our dinner stop my dear.”

Alistair got out and used every bit of manners that had ever been drummed into him to make him presentable for her and the nobles inside as they were escorted to the private room. Candle light on the intimate table for two and a low fire were all the lighting in the room. Despite the attendants Alistair insisted he take her cloak and seat her before settling himself dawn at the table.

They were handed menus with two choices for each course and there were four courses on it. They both decided to get one of each and share the food between them so they could try it all without being wasteful. Alistair had made sure to snack just before he left so he would be so hungry as to need double portions to be satisfied.

“That was odd.” Elissa whispered quietly to Alistair. “There was no desert on the list.”

“Ah! That would be because I already ordered it ahead of time.” He admitted with a confident smirk. “I had help with that too, so there is no reason for you to worry about it.”

She laughed and held onto his hand under the table. “In case I forget because we are having a wonderful time, this has already been the best date possible Alistair.” She told him, and for the first time ever he saw her looking truly carefree. He couldn’t help taking her hand and kissing it with a lingering kiss. As much as he wanted to lick between her fingers because of how it would make her jump with lust he refrained.

“It’s easy when I have the best woman on Thedas to take out.” He said both sincerely and smoothly.

They kept telling each other little stories, like the first time she had beaten Rory with a sword and shield and he wouldn’t talk to her for a few days until she’d beaten her again. He told her about some of the pranks he’d pulled on the older cadets that would get him busted back down to a lower level making it impossible for the Chantry to advance him to a full Templar despite his skills on the field.

“So there I am completely naked and I just barged into the full hall.” Elissa was laughing so hard she nearly fell over as the waitress brought in their desert.

“I am so sorry for interrupting, Your Majesties.” The girls said blushing. She’d obviously caught the end of Alistair’s statement.

“No please.” Alistair said wiping his mouth one last time with his napkin. “I want to see her face when she sees them.”

The young girl walked over and placed the little buttertarts down in front of her. Elissa’s eyes widened with pure pleasure. “You got them to make buttertarts?”

He nodded. “The cook at the Highever estate knew the recipe and so I had them copy it to make here for tonight.”

She got up and sat in his lap and kissed him. “Thank you.” She told him with a blissful smile.

He turned her so she was facing his plate and the blushing waitress. “I’ll be leaving yah now.” She said as she curtsied and fled the room.

To say she enjoyed the buttertarts would be an understatement. Alistair only got a single bite from his own warm gooie sweet pastry desert. Elissa was making sinfully delightful sounds that made it impossible for him to defend his own pastry from her onslaught against the treats.

She laughed and fell back against his chest. “I’m so full.” She moaned.

Alistair bit his lip and made a huge effort not to moan at her innocent statement. “Perhaps we should get to the Theatre so we can see the play.” He managed to grit out through his teeth. He was getting hard listening to her and having her in his lap and without armor she was going to notice.

She stood up but the look on her face suggested the little minx had known exactly what she was doing. “You are evil.” He muttered at her while picturing darkspawn to get rid of his hard on. It only took a split second of thinking of a certain one for him to be completely soft.

She chuckled but took his hand. “I girl likes knowing she can affect her gentleman callers in such a way.” She bit her lip to try a stop the sly smile from becoming a full brown smirk.

“Come on before we need a room here for more than dinner.” Alistair grumbled good naturedly.

Elissa giggled as he led her out of the room and down the stairs passed all the other nobles drinking in the bar. Many of them seemed startled to see the two of them, even more were surprised by the open affection they had for one another. As they crossed the room Alistair lifted her fingers to his lips but this time he did flick his tongue across the webbing of one of her fingers making her jump and laugh a little harder.

“Alistair!” She gasped and pulled her hand away. He laughed and retook her hand as they headed out into the coach.

With the night as cold as it was there were usually no outdoor plays to be had this time of year, but with the regular theatre not scheduled to be fixed for some time the local troops had decided outdoor plays could be done if they stuck to shorter half hour plays, and the crowds could be surrounded by the warming drums used on Firstday.

The people gathered quickly once they arrived. Seats had been provided for the future Queen and her Consort near the stage. Many of the people hadn’t seen the queen-elect yet and were very curious about her. The crowds pressed in but respected the swords of the guards and came and got their look before moving off to find their own place to sit. A small elven child broke through the edge and somehow slipped past their guards, most likely because the child was so small and young that the guards hadn’t seen her by their feet. The child crawled under Alistair’s chair and peaked up at them.

Elissa noticed the child first. Bright green eyes looked back at her. “Hello.” Elissa said softly to the girl holding out her hand. The little girl stuck her thumb in her mouth and took her hand and stood up, drawing Alistair’s attention from the stage setup.

The girl used her fingers not currently in her mouth to wave at her. “What’s your name little one?”

The little girl shrugged and moved closer to her to touch her dress. She pulled her thumb out and looked up at her. “Softy.” She looked in awe of the texture, petting the dress on Elissa’s knee again.

Elissa smiled at her. “It is very soft isn’t.”

One of the guard’s noticed the child and turned to deal with it, but Alistair waved him away. “Keep a lookout for the child’s parents, they must be frantic.” He told him.

“Yes Sire.” The guards responded. Alistair winced. To help him get ready for his new post Elissa had asked the guards and royal staff to address him as such. It had been three weeks and he still wanted to flinch every time he heard it.

He looked down and couldn’t believe how beautiful she looked talking to the child. She had the little girl answering question like how old was she (she was three if the number of fingers was correct), did she live in the city (she nodded), was she here with her parents (shook her head), someone else (nod), who? The child looked down and shuffled her feet.

“We not su’ose to be here, ‘caws we knife-ears’.” The child finally said. “We’s snuck in.”

Elissa’s eyes hardened as she looked behind her only to find what they child said was true, while Elves often didn’t attend plays in large numbers, there were usually a small group that would come to the plays. But as far as she could see there were only humans in the crowd.

A small commotion could be heard off to the side where another child was screaming for Menolly. The child in front of her turned her head towards the sound. “Is that your brother?” Elissa asked her with a light tone, meant to gain the child’s trust. The little girl nodded.

“I can take the child, Your Majesty.” One of the guards said.

“No, I will. I have something to ask the guard anyway.” She said in the same light tone, but Alistair knew that look. The guard in question was going to be very lucky Elissa wasn’t armed.

The Guards looked concerned but Alistair was right by her elbow talking to the child. “So your name is Menolly? Mine’s Alistair.” He said holding out two fingers of his hand.

The little girl giggled and shook them. “You’s silly.”

Alistair chuckled back. “More fun than being serious all the time.”

Elissa picked up the child and began to walk through the crowd. People quickly got out of her way as she came to the source of the disturbance. “I ain’t telling you knife ears again getten outta here before I haven ta hurt yeah.”

“How dare you.” Elissa’s voice cut through the crowd bringing instant silence. The annoyed guard spun around expecting to blast whatever bleeding heart stood behind him. When he saw it was the queen-elect he quickly dropped to his knee. “Begging your pardon, Your Majesty. I was getting rid of the riff raff so you could enjoy the show ma’am.”

She looked out and saw four children all between the ages of ten to twelve. Menolly was obviously in their charge for the night when they decided to come see the show. “Then take yourself away.” She said harshly. She looked down at the children. “Would you all like to sit with me?”

They looked at her in awe but to a one were nodding their heads. Alistair was grinning from ear to ear at the display. The people around her were surprised but some showed approval while others were disgusted.

The guard gapped quite appalled by the suggestion. “But Your Majesty. I was ordered to keep the knife ears out.”

Alistair moved to grab the man’s arm and moved him back away from Elissa. “The Queen-Elect takes great offence to that term. I suggest you strike it from your vocabulary.” Alistair hissed at him loud enough that several people heard but not so many that it caused too big of a scene.

The guard just nodded his head dumbly. “Alright, Your Majesty, but someone has to be paying for them entrance.”

Alistair knew how much the tickets were and handed the guard the money for the children fees. “Take it to the ticket booth and see that we are not disturbed again.”

Elissa and the children were talking excitedly about the show and walked with her back towards their seats. He watched her go for a moment before his guard cleared his throat to remind him to follow. “Amazing woman isn’t she?”

“Aye.” The guard said. “Hope you don’t take offense sir but I don’t want this detail again. She is quite the feisty one and near started a riot there.”

Alistair laughed. “The people are going to have to get used to it. Their Queen is a warrior, like my grandmother.”

“Then she should have armor sewn into her dresses Sire.” The guard said with a shake of his head. “Too many have strong opinions of the Elves to be putting on such a display with only a handful of guards and no armor or weapons.” His voice held worry which is the only reason Alistair held his tongue. He realized the man wanted nothing more than to do his duty and see they both safely back and was now worried someone would do something stupid.

“I’ll remind her of that later, but don’t expect that to change much.” Alistair said with a grin. “As you said she’s feisty.”

The children were gathered around their seats on the ground but someone had supplied a blanket for them, both to sit on and drape over their legs. The littlest one Menolly was wrapped in Elissa’s arms and cloak on her lap.

When Alistair took his seat that was cue the band had been waiting for band they began the play the opening music for “The Life of Flemeth”. It told the story of Bann Conobar, who took to wife a beautiful young woman who harbored a secret talent for magic: Flemeth of [Highever](http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Highever), said to be an ancient ancestor of Elissa’s. They lived for quite some time happily at Highever, until the arrival of a young poet, Osen, who captured the lady's heart with his verse. She ran away with him.

They turned to the [Chasind](http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Chasind_Wilder) tribes for help and hid from Conobar's wrath in the Wilds, until word came many years later that Conobar lay dying: His last wish was to see Flemeth's face one final time.

The lovers returned, but it was a trap. Conobar killed Osen, and imprisoned Flemeth in the highest tower of the castle, a tower that until it burned was believed to have been haunted by the events that took place there. No one dared go up to the highest tower room where it was said she had been imprisoned.

In grief and rage, Flemeth worked a spell to summon a [spirit](http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Spirit) into this world to wreak vengeance upon her husband. Vengeance, she received, but not as she planned. The spirit took possession of her, turning Flemeth into an [abomination](http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Abomination). A twisted, maddened creature, she slaughtered Conobar and all his men, but not the children or her own grown son by Conobar, and fled back into the [Wilds](http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Korcari_Wilds).

For a hundred years, Flemeth plotted, stealing men from the Chasind to sire monstrous daughters: Horrific things that could kill a man with fear. These Korcari witches led an army of Chasind from the Wilds to strike at the Alamarri tribes. They were defeated by the hero Cormac, and all the witches burned, so they say, but even now the world knows that the Witch of the Wilds lives, as she saved the Prince and Hero of Ferelden at Ostagar.

After the final curtain call the crowd began to disperse. Elissa was unsure what to do with the children as it was very dark out now, and the Alienage hadn’t been cleared enough for the coach, and poor Menolly was sleeping in her lap.

Alistair took charge. He picked the young girl up and held her against his shoulder without waking her. Waving to the rest of the children to follow him he gave Elissa and smile and asked her to wait in the carriage for him. He and his single guard made their way towards the Alienage with another man Elissa didn’t know walking with him carrying a torch to light the way. From the way they were talking Alistair seemed to know him.

“He’ll be seeing them home with Slim as an escort, Your Majesty, but we should be getting back to the carriage ma’am. You angered some of them earlier and it would make it easier for us to guard you until Sire returns.” The Guard Captain said, moving to block her view of Alistair.

It was then that she realized she was surrounded on all sides by the rest of the four guards. “Of course Captain.” She said softly and began to move to the coach. Once inside she realized how cold it was. With Menolly in her lap and Alistair’s arm over her shoulder she had been quite warm during the performance. She was glad someone had thought to heat the coach with a warming stove, though it would have to be moved to the iron box outside the coach before they moved to the palace.

Alistair didn’t take long to return and when he did he was chuckling. “They are in a lot of trouble.” He told her as the Coachman took the stove outside. “Their parents arrived home before we got there and they were very upset, especially when I came in carrying Menolly. I explained everything, but the children are still going to be thinking twice before ever going out again without permission, and dragging that poor little one with them.”

Elissa sighed with sympathy. She was glad they had parents who loved and cared for them so much, but they had made the night extra especially perfect. Seeing Alistair as he interacted with the children had placed a kernel of desire in her heart for children of their own. And she had Morrigan’s recipe to ensure conception. Perhaps in a few months if she wasn’t already pregnant she would consider using it, but not until after their honeymoon.

They talked about the play and she filled him in of some of the Highever history the play had alluded to. She told him of once touching the door of the room Flemeth had been kept in as a teenager on a dare, and getting an extremely cold feeling of dread course through her. He told her more about actually meeting the woman. When they arrived back at the castle they thanked their guards and strolled to their rooms.

“Thank you Alistair, it has been the most wonderful night of my life.” She told him happily.

“Mine too my love.” He said before he kissed her and locked their door. “Now about that song you promised me earlier.” He grinned at her.

  


**14** **th** **of Guardian**

**Denerim Palace**

 

The Coronation required a precession through the city in the Royal Coach. Elissa had them tie back the curtains so she could be seen. She was travelling with Alistair and both were dressed in heavy dark blue velvet with silver embroidery. He was in the opposite seat. As the soon to be Prince-Consort she wanted him to be part of this. When the Coach arrived at Fort Drakon they marched up the stairs into the ancient hall where every King and Queen of Ferelden had been crowned.

The ceremony itself was surprisingly quick. Elissa walked up to the alter with the regalia and the waiting Chamber Lord. After being sworn in she was seated on the throne and the crown was placed on her head. The crown was a simple designed crown with gold filigree shaped into the three wide points of royalty encrusted with one large emerald cut diamond and a ring of pearls on each point.

When she was seated the crown was placed on her head and she was handed the Sword and Seal of Ferelden, both encrusted with the Ferelden coat-of-arms design. Once she had them in hand she stood and a held them and waited for the applause to stop. She was then reseated and the nobles were to be presented. Lower ranks first, and they swore fealty.

They had gone through all the Banns, and Arls when Anora was presented. She too swore fealty and took her place as Teyrnessa of Gwaren and dowager Queen. There was a flutter of conversation as the last noble walked in the room. Elissa gasped and stood. At the end of the aisle stood Rory walking beside someone she knew.

She stood and ran to the man standing beside him and threw her arms around him. "Fergus!" She screamed and held him tightly. He stumbled and Rory moved quickly to keep him upright.

"Careful sister, I am still recovering from my injuries at Ostagar." He said softly in her ear.

She just held him tighter. "Everyone said you were dead!"

"I promised I would return." He said to her and held her just as tight. She just cried so hard Alistair had to come over and help Rory take them both from the hall.

  



	16. Chapter 16

 

  


The wedding was everything Elissa had ever dreamed of, and then some. The hall was covered in white flowers of every type, and the white ribbons and cloths made the hall seem brighter and cleaner. Where the throne usually sat stood the altar, behind the Grand Cleric of Ferelden. Beside her stood Alistair, his shoulders were perfectly outlined by the dark Highever blue colored wrap over his ceremonial armor of Highever with the Theirin heraldry on the neck clasp at his throat. Rory stood beside him in his Warden armor.

In front of her Solona was walking down the aisle to stand beside her as her maid of honor. Her dress of warden blue was complimentary to the blue everyone else was wearing. Fergus beside Elissa was dressed in his formal Teyrn armor walking her up the aisle.

All their friends were there, and all the people who had helped them, minus Morrigan and Sten.

The past few months had been hectic. She had borrowed the men she had sent to Jader from Fergus and sent Rory and Leliana with them to retrieve Andraste's Ashes and hidden them within the secret vault in the palace. She did not want the Chantry to find out about Haven, at least while the Ashes had been there. In there too was the translation of the story on the walls to be double checked. Elissa still hadn't looked at it, afraid to know the truth.

The darkspawn had been pushed back and were mostly underground. Rory and Alistair had been very busy overseeing the new recruits and the wardens who had been on loan and were now at Vigil's Keep. Rory had opened the old Grey Warden Compound in Denerim last month. When Elissa and Alistair returned from their honeymoon and tour of Ferelden Alistair would be taking over and Rory would be going to Soldier's Peak and liaison back and forth with Virgil's Keep as he rebuilt the fortress as the permanent headquarters for the Grey Wardens of Ferelden. The idea was that the compound would be the training center for possible volunteers and conscripts to train so they would be ready to go once they were transferred to the Keep. There was a large group of people who wished to join the Wardens after the battle of Denerim, but who had little to no skills.

Slim had been recruited to teach some rogue skills to possible recruits, and Rory was capable of teaching most weapons. Alistair had some surprising pike skills, Oghran had started calling him pike twirler since he'd shown them off. There were some Royal Guards who also were helping drill the recruits.

Oghran had plans to leave in the morning for Orzammar, he had some family obligations to clean up. His ex-wife up and taking the whole family into the Deep Roads and then getting them all killed left a mess behind to sort through. He'd planned to sell it all and then figure out what he wanted, but he knew it wasn't in Orzammar. Solona had told him he'd always be welcome to fight at their side if he needed some excitement.

Sten had already left, with several cookie recipes in hand. He'd completed his mission and had his sword back so he had no reason to stay any longer and it was time for him to report back. He had given Elissa and Solona a great deal of respect before he left and explained that the title he'd given them both was a great honor for those the follow the Qun.

Morrigan was long gone. Zevran had left for a two weeks stint with several of the borrowed wardens and gone after Flemeth. He never said what they had encountered but the men with him had mentioned that Flemeth had turned into a Dragon and flew off after talking to Zevran.

Zevran had dealt with several attempts on his life until recently. It seemed the grandmaster of his guild had enforced the 'No Warden' rule. All attempts had stopped, not that Zevran had allowed that to stop him from making his plans to disappear. Solona had asked him to head to Soldier's Peak and make sure that the research side of things stayed secure and secret and start teaching Cara and Jowan dagger skills, she was hoping to make them warrior mages too. None of the outside Wardens knew of the Peak and the Ferelden Wardens hoped it would stay that way.

Leliana had plans to go to her former lover's estate in Orlais. What she planned to do after that she wasn't sure, but she promised to keep in touch. Her adventures had convinced her that she was not meant for a life as a lay sister. She had also promised to not reveal anything about Haven without giving Elissa a warning so she could prepare for the fallout.

Shale had plans to stay close to Wynne while she looked into ways to possibly make her a dwarf again. Both of them thought Wynne would likely need protection while travelling. Greagoir had given her permission to look into that matter as much as she needed but to check in every so often. Elissa thought it was more because he wanted to hear from her rather than as a Knight-Commander requirement. Shale didn't have much hope but she was glad to have Wynne's help to do the research.

Jowan and Cara had headed back to the Peak about a few days after the coronation, which was less than a month after the battle.

Solona had finally heard back from the First Warden. He'd been impressed and really hoped that if she did a good enough job as Arlessa, that the title might be offered to the Order even after her Calling. He was sending a little money and a few administrators to help her out they should be arriving at Vigil's Keep next week.

Virgil's Keep was actually in rather good shape, but needed upgrading to bring it up to military strength. Rendon Howe was too cheap to upkeep the defenses but the interior was perfect, most likely because it was his main residence. Elissa had no funds to spare. With her brother’s returned she had returned the money from the Cousland treasury along with the heirlooms and their great-grandmother’s Grey Warden items, including the diary once Solona copied it word for word. In her own copy she had added the information they had learned, like the nightmares were worse for those recruited during a Blight.

There had been a great deal of Howe family heirlooms at Virgil’s Keep. Elissa had ordered them stored for now. She would let Solona deal with that when she was ready. Elissa didn't trust herself to deal with it fairly. Rendon was dead and those items belonged to Nathaniel and Delilah. Thomas had been found dead in the Denerim Howe estate from darkspawn that had attacked the house during the initial assault on the city.

Elissa herself had to do a tour of the country a week after she and Alistair got back from their honeymoon. The condition of the country was in question and Elissa wanted to see what could be done. Anora and several of her lower lords had been very vocal about the amount of Blighted lands in her Teyrn, and the southern Banns in some cases had no livable lands left.

With a few other noble families suddenly without heirs, the state of the nobility in Ferelden was suddenly in jeopardy. Those of an age that would allow them time to raise any new heirs, like Fergus, were being left alone. Others like Eamon were being pressured to foster and adopt nobles from the Banns who had no lands left. Elissa wouldn't approve anyone until she had time to see the state of those lands first to verify claims. Alistair was going to be with her, in part because they would be newlyweds but also so he could document the damage for the Warden Leadership and look at possible recruits for the Wardens and Royal Army. Any recruits would then be sent onto Denerim for training.

Solona is staying in Denerim for the month to keep an eye on Eamon as much as she was to continue her learning of how to govern and over see any recruits that looked promising. Elissa refused to send her into the Arl of Amaranthine without any idea of what she was doing. Elissa knew several of the nobles and the all were cutthroat experts at the game. Elissa had plans to help Solona even the playing field somewhat but she needed to spend time learning the basics of The Game first.

The dogs of course were going to be with their owners, although Adele was pregnant so she wouldn't be able to fight for about six months now that they knew about her pregnancy. Virgil’s Keep had a Kennel that was more than adiquit for the Warden Mabari Hound.

But right now Elissa was on her brother's arm heading towards a match made by the Maker. Her Alistair was waiting for her in all his Noble Therin Silverite Armor and Highever blue velveted glory.

"Are you sure you want to marry the reluctant Prince?" Her brother teased. Fergus had started calling him that when Alistair had complained about having to take the title of Prince-Consort after all. "We can still kick him out."

Elissa's happiness bubbled up from her chest making it impossible to hold back her nervous but euphoric giggles. "No, but I wouldn't mind if you kick his sister out on her ear." Referring to Goldanna's new job as a maid in the Highever Denerim Estate. Elissa couldn’t stand to look at the woman but Alistair had asked that she keep the promise to get her a job and Elissa had installed her at the Highever Estate since she would hardly ever be staying there. When Fergus returned he had agreed to keep her on as she was good at her job and she had kept her mouth shut and never spoke to or about Elissa.

Fergus smiled down at her. "But you're going to keep her kids?"

She nodded. "They are actually grateful for the opportunities." The three boys were being squired out to several of the kinder knights that Elissa knew in passing through Rory. The two girls were being given a chance to be educated that would enable them to installed into higher positions in the household when they grew up.

"I'm happy for you, Pup." He said with a little wince, he only found out about what happened in Highever to his wife and son when Rory found him and gave him the news a week before her coronation, three months earlier.

"I want you to be happy too, when you are ready, I'll be there to go back to Highever with you." She said as they reached the steps.

"At the end of your tour maybe." He whispered. "But in the meantime be happy and love with all your heart." He said with tears in his eyes.

They had talked a great deal since he'd returned. His wounds had taken months to heal enough to be able to walk again. That deep in the Wilds reliable news had not reached him about what was happening in the rest of Ferelden. Solona had been able to fix the damage as it was mostly healed and treated correctly. It had required her to use more mana than if she’d re-broken his leg in several places, but he had almost his full mobility back now. He'd be staying in Denerim and working at getting the Teyrn back in a state of repair, and helping Rory as physical therapy. Solona didn’t think he’d gain all mobility back but he had a chance at maybe ninty-five percent.

The Arl of Highever was going to help with some of the repairs to the Castle and oversee them while Fergus stayed in the Capital to help Elissa. She still needed to select her council of advisors. She had asked him to be her Chancellor while she was away, in conjunction with Teagan.

Needless to say Eamon had been put out by the appointment of Teagan over him. Elissa had reminded him that his wife had done so much damage to his Arldom that she couldn’t expect him to neglect his people. It was a sharp reminder that Elissa still wanted a pound of flesh from Isolde. The writing was on the wall, if he wanted any chance in the Queen’s Council he was going to have to send Isolde away in disgrace or put her on trial with the Chantry. Elissa hadn’t added she felt she personally owed Teagan for what Alistair had accidentally put him through over his affair with Solona when he blurted out his comment inf ront of everyone. Elissa personally felt he should turn the Arldom over to Teagan as there was no way he would father a child at his age with a barren wife.

Fergus placed Elissa's hand in Alistair's as they approached the alter. "Take good care of her." He said with a solum smile.

"More like she'll keep me in line." Alistair quipped back.

Fergus chuckled softly. "That she will." He said with a fond look at her face. "I love you Pup."

"Love you too Fur Face. Now go sit down." She ordered him playfully. He laughed and gratefully took Solona's arm and sat in the chair right by the dais.

As the ceremony started she couldn't help but feel everything was on track. The Rogue hadn't shown yet, but Rory and Solona were able to be friends again so things seemed to be as good as they could be. Elissa couldn't be happier.

  


At that moment however a man stood on the Kirkwall dock looking for a ship that would take him to Ferelden, and to his destiny. He was going to kill the Warden-Commander of Ferelden, and as an assassin by trade and training, as well as a warrior, he had no doubt he would succeed. No one alive knew Vigil's Keep as well as he did. He knew every inch of it, and once Warden-Commander Elissa Cousland was dead then his family would be avenged, or his name wasn't Nathaniel Howe.


End file.
